Winter's Freeze (Sequel to Bleeding for Winter)
by SaraiDaDee
Summary: Hailence is a new person... scratch that, a new vampire, and finds herself at odds with who she was and who she is now. Struggling to find herself again, she's helped by a surprising not-so-stranger, who runs with her to hide her from The Council who plans to use her new-found Key to Immortality to end to human world as we know it. In-Progress...
1. Chapter One: Lost

**Author's Note:** This is a sequel to the story Bleeding For Winter (for those who don't already know) though the first book doesn't have to be necessarily read to understand this one in my opinion. I just wanted to add a bit of warning. Bleeding for Winter was written in 2008 and finished in 2009. I didn't want to write in the sequel because I wanted to wait until I could completely understand Hailence now that she's a completely different person as a vampire herself. You'll find because I am older and different, my writing may be and so might Hailence (though mostly her difference is because of the being she is now). That said, I don't want you to feel disappointed if you don't find the same Hailence you once knew (to those who read the first one), if the writing seems a bit rushed or unorganized (it's the first draft without much editing), and I'm sorry if it takes a bit for me to finish this story. I originally was going to wait until I completed it, but I decided to go ahead and post this. Review if you want! And I hope you enjoy~

* * *

**Winter's Freeze**

**Chapter One**

_Lost_

I had quite severely forgotten my purpose in life. Or rather, in death. In fact, I was pretty sure I had forgotten everything I was supposed to remember. It was like I was doing something, but then I forgot why I was doing that something. And now I'm not doing anything because I've forgotten exactly what was going on. I was completely lost. But not because I didn't know where I was. In fact, I knew exactly where I was. I knew the exact pinpoint of my location on the Earth. To put it quite frankly, it was because of this knowledge that I was completely lost, and due to being lost, I had forgotten what I was doing and why I was doing it.

At the moment, I was doing quite nothing. Well, besides being completely lost. I was standing in the middle of a massive amount of trees, not moving at all, looking something of a statue. I was wearing some of my favorite orange pajama shorts, along with a spaghetti strap shirt without any shoes or socks on. The November wind normally would have been extremely cool against my skin, sending goose bumps over my back, except at the moment the cold atmosphere of an approaching winter didn't seem to have any effect on me. Neither did the cool ground with protruding rocks and sticks that was heartless against bare feet. I could step on glass and it wouldn't affect me. It wouldn't, would it, considering the previous events that had taken place not even over a day ago.

Only at the moment, the previous events that had occurred were no longer in my mind. In fact, nothing that had happened before this very moment was clear in my head. I was lost, and being lost, I was forgetful. I had forgotten my purpose, my reason for being here in these massive amounts of trees, where I had been walking as if to a destination. But that had been before the world changed, before I had suddenly known exactly where I was on this very planet. My senses were wild to be satisfied, spreading out around me like fingers, trying to feel everything possible. It reached from the area around me, to beyond the normal sight range, latching on to every inch of this planet as far as my senses would allow. It reached upward even, to the sunlight that poured leisurely through the tree leaves to bathe me so sweetly. I loved the sunlight the most. My mind was so enveloped in this process that my body was even forgotten, and I was lost.

I may have looked like a statue, but not because I was as solid and cold as a rock; like most vampires. In fact, I looked extremely human. I could hear my own heart beating normally, pulsing warm blood through me that was being emitted through my soft, feminine skin. I had originally looked rather pale due to my predicament within the Draele household, but now my skin was flushed and pleasantly darker, full of life. My hair was a strong copper, flowing wild down my back at great length due to being allowed to growth forth without impediments. Normally, it would be cursed with split ends and dry damage, but at this point it was thick and strong, almost glowing in the sunlight. As for my eyes, which were fixed on the bark of a tree, dissecting it so thoroughly it would be unnerving to see, they were a sharp light brown. They seem to cut through whatever they looked at, the color being brighter than ever.

Something was nagging me in the back of my head. It was like a minor thought that I should be doing something, and it told me the only way I could stop being so lost would be to move forward. But the moment I stepped forward one foot, the whole world shifted with me, opening more areas for my senses to latch onto, and I was lost all over again. It distracted me, this world. Though I was sure that the world hadn't changed at all, but rather I had. The moment Evanen pressed his wrist to my lips, letting the key to immortality slip into me. As if I was supposed to do something with it besides live. But then that's all Evanen wanted, was for me to live.

My name was Hailence Wyn Truit. "Was" being the key word. I didn't feel like I used to. Therefore, I figured I should no longer assume myself to be that girl I used to be. I preferred to be known as just Hail Draele, now. Draele of course being the name of the family I had recently been residing with. But mainly Evanen Draele, who had taken me to claim as his own slave during the summer between my junior and senior year in high school. I had stayed with him for nearly half a year, where I had met and fallen in love with Mikel Draele, who had starved himself by feeding on dead blood so that he would be able to stand being around me and wouldn't have to kill others at the same time. It was this same house where the Rising occurred, when Evanen's blood completely evolved so that he could pass on the key of immortality to whomever he chose. Only, he happened to choose me.

Evanen had been the strangest creature. He never knew what it was to be human until the moment he had died as human. He had been born from two humans as a vampire, with a prophecy over his head as being the one who would bring the rising of vampires about by holding the key of immortality in his blood. Only the One of Questions was also spoken of as a human who would stop this rising with its powers, which turned out to be the ability to have Evanen fall in love with them. So of course I turned out to be that so called person. And in a way, I was stopping the rising by not continuing to bring the downfall of humans and spreading the key to immortality like I was supposedly supposed to do.

The key to immortality. Why would vampires want that when they were supposed to be already immortal? Well, we all know that vampires can die. The true immortality led within my blood. The ability to walk in the sun. Probably withstand silver. I wasn't sure about my head getting chopped off, though. And there were probably a million other things about these powers that I didn't know about. After all, I was the first person with them, and I had never even been vampire. I hadn't wanted to; for it was the only promise I had given to Mikel. To die human. And now I was a vampire… more than a vampire, I was something else.

I couldn't be sure how long ago the Rising occurred. It hadn't turned dark since then, seeing as the sun was going at such a slow pace, I could almost hear it. Everything moved slower. The wind blew so lightly, and yet the trees bent and groaned for the longest time, sounding like a yawn. It was so peculiar of a world, and I was no longer sure how far I had gotten from the Draele house. I had forgotten where I was going, why I was in such a hurry, and what I was running from, if anything. Why would I be running from anything? And why hurry? The world was moving so slowly, I could take my time. All day felt like a year. I was sure I could run circles around the Earth over and over and have it still be the same day, if only each place I moved to wasn't as interesting as the one before. I could no longer imagine being human, and being in the same world. This place was… magical.

Being human. Being human. Why had I wanted to be human so bad?

I looked human enough. Vampires would no doubt mistake me for one, with my warm skin and rushing blood. I looked weak, actually. But I could feel the power in my body, masking itself so deviously. My skin was unflawed; all the scars seemed to have blended in with my body smoothly. Instead of being smoothed out like marble stone, it was like a rosy cream, soft to the touch. No doubt I looked as flawless and beautiful as any vampire, but so human as well.

My senses were heightened to new levels. Things I'd never heard, smelled, seen, touched, or tasted even were suddenly everywhere, shoving themselves on me desperately. So lost in them. So lost. I couldn't remember being human in these woods. Emotions themselves seemed different within me. Thoughts, fleeting thoughts, would bring about a confusion of emotions. I'd remember Katha attacking me, hitting me, trying to destroy me, and I'd feel suddenly rage boiling within me unlike ever before. Then I'd remember killing her, and I'd feel such relief and evil happiness at the revenge. Maybe this was what Evanen had felt. But there was also something more.

Deep, deep grief for everything. For Mikel's death. For his child's. For Evanen. Kyler. D.J. Their lives flitted through me, hurting me deeply. But it was fleeting, for the world was so distracting. I'd forget. I'd suddenly remember my father, Bart Truit, but that was Hailence's father, not mine. Hailence was dead. I couldn't feel her anymore. But how was the possible if I _was _her? I was so confused. So confused. So lost.

I stood like a statue, something telling me to move forward. I had to move because things might be after me. Remember? Remember? But one step and the whole world shifted again, allowing more senses of new things to flood my mind. I'd forgotten what I was doing. I was lost all over again.


	2. Chapter Two: Help

**Chapter Two**

_Help_

It felt as though a million years had passed before a slow, tender cool began replacing the warmth of the atmosphere. The sun was slowly fading and something told me I needed to fade with it. Something inside was warning me of dangers that came with the dark, but I couldn't think past that. I continued to become distracted by the eerie difference between what moved in the light and what woke in the dark. The dark was loud, inviting me to pleasures the light would never see. My eyes moved through the shades without trouble, telling me to see what no other eyes could see. But still, something inside told me to become the dark… to follow the light… to escape what fate looked for me in the night.

I suddenly heard a sharp noise moving nearby, one that stuck out above the creatures of the Earth and the breathing of the trees. Before I could even think to turn around, I had already done so, and muscles which I never felt previously were tightening underneath my illusion of soft skin. But my sight was greeted with a familiar face… or a would-be familiar face if I couldn't now see the changes my new sight had given me.

"Hailence," a voice approached me slowly and easily, the length of time taken to say this one word was excruciatingly long, as though it had been there all along. It carried a scent, something beautiful and delicious, with it. I turned my eyes to greet Jove Silverstone… a new Jove. One who had flaws, though hidden well, flaws only I could see. His skin, which was near perfection before I was turned, was now a soft cream color with multiple marks that told history of his battles in life – both human and vampire. It gave off a thick smell of temptation that made my veins begin to itch as though I were an alcoholic being teased by wine.

Jove's eyes moved slowly over me, though meaning to be quicker than seen, and I watched his movements which were so careful as though he were afraid I would disappear. He stood a good distance away from me, holding one palm out in surrender, and the other behind him as though preparing to run. His hair was black as the night around him, short and softly messy to represent his natural informal personality. His eyes were a sharp light green that would fascinate any passerby and even I thought they were more beautiful than usual; wilder.

Normally any sight of a Council member would have caused me to bolt as fast as possible the opposite way, being that they were an organization in the vampire world whose goal was to use this Key of Immortality to turn humans into an army of truly immortal vampires and finally rise from the shadows to rule the world. But Jove was no ordinary member, if he even was one still. Jove was a powerful mind reading vampire, in which his skills gave him full access into any human or vampire mind upon a single touch. Furthermore, he kept a mental bond with those he touched, so that he could sense people he's known if they were around him or – in my case – could track them if he knew them well. This power gained him the seat of Council Interrogator, for obvious reasons, which he was previously told was "under surveillance" due to helping me escape from my death at the Draele house.

This was the only reason why I didn't automatically run away at the sight of him. That and the fact that his mental bond to me obviously wasn't broken, meaning he could very well find me again. And this thought made me shift from a stance of hesitation to one of determination, waiting for his move. If he were to attack me, which for some reason something in my mind said it was very possible, I felt as though I could defend myself… or possibly kill him to save myself from the Council.

"Just Hail," I responded quickly, apparently so quickly Jove seemed to move his head to the side to hear me. My voice was suddenly so alluring in the night, so inviting to everything around it. I felt like I could call out and have followers to grant me every wish just with a simple order. I smelled the air, smelling that same scent of life, like a fruit being presented before me days after starvation. I couldn't pinpoint where it came from, except that Jove brought it with him. "What are you doing here?"

I still had no reason to relax as of yet, but at the same time I wondered why I would be afraid of Jove of all people. I was the Key of Immortality… if anyone should be afraid, it should be him. And then it hit me… his stance wasn't one that said he was about to run to me; he was prepared to run the opposite direction.

"I know Evanen gave it to you," Jove told me slowly, his voice much quicker and easier to understand than when he had said my name so slowly before. "But the Council hasn't figured it out. I'm here to help you, Hailence." He moved his other hand from behind him to furthermore represent his surrender, but I merely narrowed my eyes. "I'm not here to hurt you. I don't think I could even if I tried."

"Go away, Jove, you've helped me enough. There's nothing else you can do," I responded shortly, turning to run away. Jove moved quickly, but unlike before I was turned, I saw it easily. The moment he reached to block my way, I grabbed his arm and threw him powerfully through the air and even through a few trees. Before he even landed, I was already grabbing him and throwing him into the ground, and ended up pinning him on his back under me before baring my teeth dangerously just like I had seen Evanen do in the past.

"Hailence," Jove said quickly, which was surprising seeing as I had my knee on his chest hard enough to hear his usually steel bones begin to crack. I didn't want to press harder in fear that I could possibly break my knee through his chest completely. I didn't hate Jove to hurt him like that. "You're a newborn. You need my help to learn about yourself… to control yourself. Unless you want to slaughter a whole town of people every night…"

I hesitated. "I won't do that," I said with uncertainty.

"Have you fed, yet?" I thought for a moment, doing a self check as though my stomach would be grumbling for food, but the only strange feeling that could represent hunger was a strange craving that was burning through my veins. I didn't feel hungry in the normal sense, or thirsty for the matter. I couldn't be sure how long it had been since I had indulged myself with any type of refreshments or food. But still the scent was pulsing in the air invitingly. I looked at Jove directly. It came from him, but I couldn't be sure where. Still, it didn't exactly tell me to go kill people and drink blood. In fact, the only reason why I was feeling this way was the smell that Jove was giving off.

At this thought, I moved my knee off of Jove to straddle him instead, bending closer to him to see what exactly this smell was. Jove didn't struggle, which was good because for some reason I felt if he did it would be dangerous… for him. I breathed in his scent carefully, which automatically enticed the feeling through my body viciously, making me halt in mid-inhalation.

Without thinking, I moved his shirt from his shoulder, and breathed in the scent more directly from his skin. It was like a mix of fruit, with warmth, and a promise of delight. I automatically bit into his shoulder, causing multiple things to happen: First, Jove gasped, apparently not used to being the one being fed from. Second, his blood rushed into my mouth, blinding my thoughts with the sudden burst of craving that throbbed through my veins. And lastly, my blinded thoughts were given eyes by a sudden burning sensation over my skin and throughout my body. It was the same familiar feeling of life that Jove gave me every time he touched me, only this time I was suddenly hearing his voice through my head and feeling his own pain of broken bones, slight wonder and fear, and the sting of my fangs in his skin.

It was enough to cause myself to pull away quickly, holding a hand over my mouth as though I had been caught sneaking a bite from someone else's chocolate cake. "I'm sorry," I told Jove sincerely, moving to get off of him and run away. But he quickly moved to grab my hand and stop me, or rather ask me to stop seeing as I felt I could easily get him to let go.

"It's okay," Jove responded, making me think that perhaps something was mentally wrong with him. "You don't have to explain anything to me of all people." Which made sense seeing as he knew everything with a mere touch.

"You can't be around me, I could hurt you," I said darkly. "I'm not a normal vampire. You know how good your blood tasted. Vampires hate the taste of other vampire blood."

Jove wasn't to be deterred. "I can help you control it," He told me sincerely, "I know you're different from us, which is expected, but I can still help you learn. And I can help you find your power and learn how to use them… or how not to use them. Besides… you want to really know how I know you need help?"

I peered at him suspiciously.

"We're not speaking normally," He stated, and to prove it he began saying something that was unintelligible and took forever for him to finish. But now that I concentrated I could suddenly tell he was speaking actual words, only near painfully slow, and I didn't have to patience to wait and hear what he was saying.

"You're saying that's normal speech?" I was skeptical.

He nodded, "And you're speaking… how did you used to put it? Vampire language?" This astounded me, and at the same time horrified me. I remembered being human and hearing Evanen and Cecilian speak to each other in wisps of air, which I had been informed me was normal speech merely sped up to beyond human understanding. I had dubbed this fast language as a vampire language, and now I was supposedly speaking at this pace? This meant the whole world was moving ten times slower than I thought it was which explained why it took so long for the sun to move over the sky. What if I was stuck in overdrive forever?

"What… How… What… How do I stop that?!" I exclaimed as though Jove could present a cure to me. Now that I was no longer pissed or trying to eat him, Jove seemed more relaxed and humored like he used to be.

"It'll become easier as time moves on, but until then you just have to learn to listen and figure out the right pace of the universe. It's hard when you've first turned, but I can help you understand what's going on," Jove said simply. "The new vampire blood with the human is on overdrive for now, heightening everything, speeding up things, and distracting you constantly. But as time goes on everything will start to settle."

I frowned, my pessimistic thoughts beginning to race through my mind. I wouldn't learn to control myself. I would end up permanently unattached to the world. I would eventually explode and kill everybody and anybody because they would be like insects to me; strange, unintelligible, and inferior. It was only right that I need help to learn what I could about myself just so I wouldn't hurt anyone. And it seemed right that that person would be Jove, who was literally the only being in the universe who knew absolutely everything about me.

"Fine," I finally submitted, "You can help me. But if I end up killing you, you can't blame me."

Jove smiled triumphantly, and looked around. "Good. The first thing we'll do is run. You've barely gotten anywhere away from the Draele house, and if the Council did know what happened, you would've been found by them by now."

I looked around at the trees, finding myself becoming fascinated easily by the night vision. Jove watched me for a minute, as though allowing me a bit more time to be curious about this situation, before interrupting my thoughts.

"Hailence," He touched my arm lightly, gesturing in a certain direction, "Run." And without a second order, I was flying through the trees faster than ever, feeling as though absolutely nothing could stop me. There was nothing at my back but a bad past… and Jove.


	3. Chapter Three: Running

**Chapter Three**

_Running_

It was amazing, being able to scale through trees, mountains, valleys, and rivers as though I had become the true energizer bunny without the ability to exhaust my energy. I thought that if I were to keep running in a certain direction, avoiding the cities and people in general, I could perhaps circle the world. It would be like being superman, flying about the Earth so fast I could turn time. The theory was a ridiculous one, being that if something like that was to actually happen the Earth would probably fall out of orbit and everyone would die, but to have an inch of that power was a miracle.

I stopped suddenly when I felt something start to numb my insides. It was actually something physical, but rather another sense. And this one was telling me the sun was rising behind me. This normally wouldn't bother me, being that obviously the sun doesn't affect me like it would other vampires, but within seconds Jove stopped next to me, also looking in the direction of the rising sun. The sky was still dark, but unmistakable rays of the coming light were beginning to shine through the atmosphere.

"I forgot about the sun," I told Jove simply, and looked to him as though he would have answers. I wasn't the one that needed to shield myself from the sun; therefore he could decide where we were going. Or I could abandon him and try to solve my problems by myself…

"We need to go into town," Jove stated, looking in another direction where no doubt a small population of people resided; people with blood racing easily through their veins; their only protection a thin layer of skin that ripped like paper under nails and teeth like mine. People who died as easily as a balloon would pop. I tried to take inventory of my physical feelings at that moment, determining if I still had that craving in my blood. There were so many different feelings that I couldn't focus on one, much less the hunger that was under it all.

"You won't let me hurt anyone, will you," I asked Jove, voicing a suddenly amazing amount of trust I was beginning to bestow upon him. He was the only being standing in front of me; something completely real. Everything before I changed felt like a blur of someone else's memories. The fact that Jove had been in those memories made me trust him more.

"I can try," Jove responded uncertainly. I assumed if the time came and I was running to rip some human's head off, he wouldn't actually be able to do anything but get in my way and get hurt himself. But it was enough to know I'd have something else to think about before I went insane with blood lust. Not that I knew exactly what that felt like; I hadn't been around humans as of yet. Jove made to move in the direction he had indicated, and I followed behind him at his pace. The sun was rising slowly, so I assumed we were moving a lot faster than I felt we were. Then suddenly the trees were cleared to the view of buildings and roads. It wasn't a large town, but it wasn't completely ghostly either. Only a few cars were moving about in the early morning, people quiet and near dead. I stayed close to Jove as he walked into the town onto a sidewalk as though he completely belonged here among the living.

I nearly ran into Jove when he finally halted in front of a larger building. He looked at me with narrowed eyes as though he were considering something dark, and then said, "I'm not skilled at controlling minds, so we'll have to do this quickly. Stay here." I recalled the fuzzy memory of Evanen telling me about Jove's power, how though he had amazing insight into people's thoughts, when it came to controlling them as other vampires can do, he was unable to do so. The closest thing to control I had seen Jove do was cause a bunch of vampires to lose their sense of sight and hearing, and he also managed to make one vampire send a message against his will. I could remember that feeling of when I would be ordered to stay silent by a vampire when I was human. No matter how hard I wanted to scream, their voice held mine captive. That is until Evanen had taught me how to battle this mind control with excruciatingly difficult anti-mind controlling lessons. Not that it mattered now that I was something far more than human.

Jove came back outside in what was literally one second, but to me felt like a few minutes. He showed me a key that probably led to a hotel room before pulling me quickly, faster than a human would be able to see, into the Hotel and up two flights of stairs. The halls were red tinged, being the theme color of the hotel. He moved down the long hall, where a woman exited her room and walked past me at such a slow pace. I breathed in her scent while she walked by without her even noticing, moving closer to the sudden scent of fruit and sweet blood… the blood that could be rushing over my tongue, coloring my teeth, and lining my throat so seductively. And the scent was interrupted by Jove blocking me from the woman, who continued by without noticing my interest. I didn't look in her direction again as I determinedly followed Jove to the room that would keep me from jumping random people in hallways.

The hotel room was small, with only a room with one bed, dresser, table, television, and a small bathroom that barely fit an extra bathtub. Everything was white and red, and smelled of the strangest things that I couldn't even identify. I made my way into the room carefully, eyeing every particle in the air that I would never have noticed before. Then I turned to look at Jove as though I needed permission to do anything like turning on the television or sitting down.

"We'll stay here for the day, and move at night," Jove told me, moving by me as he tugged at the collar of his suit. He was still dressed as a Council Interrogator. I wondered if the Council found out about me as of yet, and if they did know, I wondered if they found out Jove was helping me as well. No doubt, this would please them even less. Jove sat down on the edge of the bed, moving to grab the remote and turn on the television. The moment it turned on, the noises infiltrated my head, and I winced before covering my ears. Jove winced in response before turning off the television almost just as fast.

I moved to the bed, spreading out as though I were about to go to sleep. Honestly, I didn't know if I needed to sleep at all. Evanen used to sleep as though he were human. But Mikel and the others claimed not to sleep, or if they did it was very little sleep. I assumed it wouldn't hurt to try, though I didn't know what Jove would do all day. But after lying on my back for a while, Jove followed suit besides me as though preparing to sleep himself. I looked at him for a second curiously, but he just stared at the ceiling with his amazingly green eyes.

After a moment, I reached over and placed my fingertips over his cheek carefully. Automatically, the rush of adrenaline pulsed through me, allowing me to suddenly be in Jove's mind. He could feel so many people, many who weren't even around him. And he felt so comfortable unlike me. I let go quickly, pulling back into myself with something of a gasp. Jove only moved his eyes from the ceiling to mine with mild amusement.

"I'm not used to having someone enter my head the same time I enter theirs," He told me, "It feels… intimate." I only peered at him, not sure if I should apologize or not. Then instead of saying anything, I rolled over and closed my eyes where suddenly sleep did pass over me as if by my sheer will.

~...~

I opened my eyes quickly and sat up before I even knew I was going to. I looked around and found myself alone, Jove was nowhere to be seen or heard. After a minute, I got out of the bed to head to the bathroom. It wasn't as if I needed to use the bathroom… honestly I didn't know if vampires had urges to do things like that. I had assumed all the waste had been vaporized just as all of my other human aspects had been; my wounds and proneness to illnesses. I went into the bathroom to look in the mirror, not sure if I would see a reflection. But when I turned on the light, a reflection greeted me in the mirror.

I didn't sigh in relief like I expected I would. Instead I was startled. I looked completely different and yet still the same person. I looked gorgeous, without the flaws that used to be there. I moved differently; I moved quickly as if I weren't used to this body. There was blood on my spaghetti strapped shirt, dry but still there. It held a perfume scent of fruit and temptation, and yet there was something unappealing about it. After a minute, I realized it was my own blood from when I was human. Evanen had bitten me just before he'd gone into his change, intending to turn me before he did so. My blood must've gotten on my shirt. It would make sense that the smell of my own blood wouldn't be as appealing as others.

With hesitation, I pulled off the spaghetti strap shirt to reveal a bra. The blood had gotten on my bra strap as well. I looked at my stomach, where there was a small line unable to be seen by anyone except someone like me who was looking for it, the scar of where Evanen had dug his thumbnail purposely over my skin in attempt to teach me a lesson about dying. I pulled off my pajama shorts, followed by my underwear, and looked at myself naked in the mirror. My body looked soft and weak. I couldn't quite understand how I could look so small and human, yet be so strong and dangerous. For a minute, I just stared at myself. Then I brought my finger to my stomach, and pressed my fingernail over my skin sharply. The smallest feeling of pain, less than that of a teasing pinch, followed the deep cut I placed over my skin, so that I didn't even wince. Instead, I watched as the cut healed with only a small amount of blood left over my once again flawless skin.

I felt Jove coming closer to the room. It was a strange feeling; not so much as a physical sense as just an awareness that he was nearby. I pulled back on my clothes, and opened the bathroom door to wait for him to come into the hotel room. When he opened the door, I felt suddenly happy, as though perhaps I'd missed him already. I wondered what I'd be doing if he had left me in the woods, lost to my senses and unable to move past my being. No doubt, the Council would have caught me or I would have smelled a human and killed people. For some reason I thought I would be able to control myself automatically, but the woman in the hallway proved otherwise.

"I was feeding, something you'll have to do," Jove told me when he saw me waiting for him. "But we should get moving again." He held out a new set of clothes for me, as if he had known I was already distasteful of my current attire with old Hailence preferences and blood on it. But I only looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean by 'something I'll _have _to do," I asked him.

"Eventually you'll start to feel hungry. You have yet to properly feed, though you don't quite know the feeling yet. You'll need to get blood from someone… anyone. And yes, it's inevitable," He responded, once again holding out the clothes. I grabbed them to get them out of the way.

"I won't feed on some person. What if I kill them?"

"It'll happen. You have to make mistakes to learn the process. I'll be there to help you, but you still have to learn to feed before you go on some rampage."

"I can live without feeding, can't I? I'm the key to immortality; nothing can kill me. Not even starvation, right?"

Jove hesitated, shifting where he stood. "The thirst is still there. Consider it a curse to your gift. You can ignore it and survive, but only just that. And the only way you would get away with that is if we somehow locked you away from mankind where you can never ever get out again. Ever." I considered immortality locked in a box. No, it was not tempting. But to kill someone just so I could live? I remembered the guilt in Mikel's eyes, constant in his curse. I already broke so many of my promises, I just felt like feeding on somebody would finish off any connection I had with him.

"Then lock me up, I don't care. I'm not feeding on anyone," I snapped, stepping back into the bathroom before shutting the door. I began to strip, in order to put on the clothes Jove had gotten me. They were simple; blue jeans and a T-shirt with oddly Elmo on the front. I thought it was near blasphemous being that I was some evil being and Elmo was an icon for children. After I put on my clothes, I heard a small tap on the door by Jove, and stopped moving to listen.

"How about a compromise," He said quietly, obviously not sure about what he was about to compromise.

I hesitated. "What are you suggesting?"

"Instead of feeding on humans, you could… feed on me…" There was a deathly silence as I took in his words. I remembered biting into his skin in the forest, his blood in my mouth. The pleasure in that made me think it would satisfy the thirst that I had for blood, even though Jove was vampire. But it scared me.

I moved closer to the bathroom door, thinking deeply. "What if I hurt you," I asked in a hushed voice, as though speaking about letting a vampire feed on another vampire were a sin. For all I knew, it was. If anything it was next to unheard of in the vampire world. But I could remember Evanen telling me how he fed on humans and vampires alike, not caring between the differences of the two.

"It would be a lot harder to hurt me than it would to hurt a human," Jove responded hesitantly. I realized the sacrifice he would be making on his part. He'd be made weaker by me feeding on him no doubt, and he was putting himself at risk of being hurt. But it was either to do that or to hurt some innocent person who hadn't lived a full life as Jove had. How old was he, anyway?

I bit my lip. "I'll do it," I answered slowly, "But only if you're okay with it. And don't lie, I'll know the minute I touch you if you're really up for it or not." I was only glad to have a door between us to prevent truly making this conversation more awkward than it already was. At the same time, my craving was beginning to grow, as if it already knew the blood it wanted was nearby and about to be willingly given. I tried to push it back inside of me, but this proved to be difficult. It was like telling a crack addict to stop wanting to do crack… pointless without any actual feeling behind it.

"It will be fine, you can come out now, Hailence," Jove told me through the door. I calmed myself the best I could before opening the door to see Jove waiting for me. I looked at him, normally thinking this would be a bit awkward, but something about my vampiric state seemed to numb the weaker emotions, making me feel less human than I already was. "We don't have to do it now… in fact, we probably should wait until a sunrise so that I can have the day to rest afterward. Is that okay with you?"

I nodded easily, not in a hurry to officially begin feeding from Jove. I still held a fear that I'd hurt him, or that his blood wouldn't satisfy me and if anything turn me in a crazy blood lusting demon that would result in me devouring the whole of the next town we were in. "Let's go," I told him, and without much of a hassle, we were on the run again.

There was something liberating about running so fast, being able to dodge any obstacle in my path. After the first night, I had done the nicer thing and followed behind Jove, knowing that my speed overpowered his easily, meaning that when he had spent the last night following me he had struggled to stay caught up. I felt like I was easily jogging behind him, whereas he was putting a lot of himself into bursting through the land and away from the direction of the Draele house. We did the usual thing day after day, stopping at either a hotel or an abandoned house, and leaving when the sun set. I had no idea where we were planning on going, and what we'd do if we got there. I was okay at the time just running, not feeling an ounce of exhaustion that would slow any normal person down.

Occasionally, I started to find myself drawn to the hunger inside of me, the one that was, in the lack of human presence, starting to recognize the vampire I was chasing… following… as a food source. I didn't like the feeling that was urging me to feed. Then one night, while we ran, I felt a pleasant feeling, like scratching an itch, in my gums, and absently reached my fingers to my mouth to feel the sharpness of what no doubt was my small, sharp, and feminine fangs that wouldn't be well noticed by a passing eye. I was startled into stopping mid-run, and Jove stopped as well, noticing automatically my change in pace.

"My fangs are out," I told him in confusion, feeling slightly embarrassed, not sure if it was normal or if I should be able to control this. I realized this is probably what guys felt like when they found themselves with an unwanted boner. Jove didn't move closer to me, which was probably a good thing. I could remember Evanen informing me of how when a vampire's fangs were brought out, it released some chemical that made the vampire want to feed even more. In fact, now that I thought of that, I could feel that urge even more pronounced. "Oh… wow, I'm starving…"

"We'll go ahead and stop then," Jove said, and I couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable knowing what stopping meant, "We'll just go to the next town and stay there until tomorrow." I nodded in agreement, and moved to follow him towards the next town we would pass, which wasn't too far. I wondered where exactly we were, but something told me not even Jove was sure of that.

As I followed him towards another hotel or safe place to hide in for the day, I wondered if he would resent me one day for making him run from his previous life as well. He was a Council Interrogator, and I figured being a part of the vampire Council was a high status in itself. It couldn't have been so easy to abandon that status. Plus, being that the Council was a part of what I assumed was the vampire government, it didn't seem like a good thing to run from your whole race with a silly girl; a newborn vampire.

Jove once again snuck us into a room for ourselves, and once inside I moved onto one of the beds and bent my knees to my chest, holding my hands over my ears and closing my eyes. The hunger was boiling inside, it was very demanding. I could feel my senses heightening, trying to locate a food source besides the one already in the room with me. It was strange that I recognized Jove as a food source, but still preferred to look for a human. I was reminded of how Evanen had explained vampire blood like chicken while human blood was like chocolate, except this felt different from that, which is expected with Evanen's similes being that he'd never been a human to know the difference. This was more like choosing between water and orange soda. I was damn thirsty, but I would easily pick an orange soda being that I was addicted to them. Well… I used to be, when I was human.

"I guess now's a good time to feed," Jove finally said from the end of my bed.


	4. Chapter Four: Feeding

**Chapter Four**

_Feeding_

I didn't move from where I was at my end of the bed, keeping my hands over my ears as though I was trying to keep my wits from escaping from my skull. I was still completely aware of Jove, both in my vampire senses and in another more spiritual type of awareness. I couldn't completely understand that awareness, being that I was new to this, but I wondered if it had to do with connecting with his thoughts when I touched him. I remembered that Jove had a sense of awareness of those he had touched, though he was by far most experienced in that area than I was. Either way, I could sense when he got on the bed I was on to move closer to me cautiously.

"It'll be hard to learn to control your feeding at the beginning," Jove told me carefully, "But you've already proven you have a good sense of controlling yourself when you bit me before. The ability to see into the mind of your victims can prove to be helpful in your own self-control, but it can also be an inhibitor… what I mean is if the mind is one to your liking, you may get curious and want to explore, and if you do that during feeding, it can be easy to lose yourself, and ultimately kill your victim without even realizing it until it's too late." I listened attentively, not wanting to mess up and kill the one person that was helping me.

"So, I'm not saying you'll like my mind, in fact there's a chance you could be repulsed by me," the thought obviously didn't please him as you would think it would, considering if I was repulsed by his mind, I'd be less likely to drain him dry, "But if you find you do, you'll have to find your own control in removing yourself from my thoughts. Tell yourself that you don't have to feed to see this mind, it's not in the blood, it's only in the touch." I thought it was slightly strange that he was focusing on the mindreading part of the feeding more than the actual feeling of hunger and the blood. But then he did know what it was like to have to feed with that ability, considering he obviously had to go through it himself. I could imagine him feeding from some victim and being entranced by their thoughts and memories, and then it being completely cut off in their death. For some reason, that seemed really horrible to me.

"Okay," I told him, "What about if I don't like your mind, but I like your blood?"

"I'll change your mind," He told me, "If you don't remember, I made you feel like you were the one being attacked when you attacked me before, it startled you away from me. If you're focused on the immediate thoughts, it's easier to distract you, instead of focusing on the background thoughts or memories. And if you don't really like my mind, or anyone elses, you'll try not to focus on the background and focus more on the blood… it'll make it easier to control yourself." He held out his arm in front of me suddenly.

I looked at him carefully, amazed in myself that I hadn't just attacked him already. Then I slowly reached out to grip his arm, feeling the rush of energy at the touch, and the touch of his mind in my own. I was startled by the images, they were blurry and disoriented; I couldn't quite focus on one in his mind. It made me forget that I was supposed to be feeding from him, and instead I was finding myself trying to catch his thoughts in streams in my own thoughts. I was thoroughly entertained; I could hear him thinking about the colors of a painting he was peering at in Sir Trenton's house. In my own mind, I remembered the place as a prison where I had been held to be a human slave with countless other girls. I had gotten away easy. I could feel his amusement at Katha's jealousy of some random girl in a nameless city. There was something so warm about his thoughts; they made something flutter inside of me, something close to joy. And then the memory of Jove screaming was in his head; pain when his father beat an object against his flesh in rage...

Suddenly it was gone. Jove had pulled his arm away from me and was waggling a disapproving finger at me, but held a small smile of pleasure behind it. "Bad, Hailence," He told me teasingly, and I blinked, a bit confused as to what just happened. "It's rude to go through people's things, you know."

"Sorry," I responded sheepishly, but then I said, "But didn't you do the same thing when I was under Trenton's… slavery thing?" I narrowed my eyes at him, though I hadn't really intended to invade his mind as I had. I wasn't even sure how I did it or what exactly I was looking at. It was obvious that I needed to work on my mind invading abilities.

"True, but you were just some silly human back then," He answered.

"Oh, so you're better than me?" I laughed, feeling like it was the first time I had laughed in the longest time, making him mess with the back of his head; caught.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, too. I guess we should try again," Jove said quickly, "You haven't fed yet, I think my thoughts interested you as yours interest me." I hadn't forgotten about the hunger in my chest, but the mentioning of feeding only made it worse. I rolled my eyes, bothered by the whole situation.

"You're right," I responded, and before I even thought about it, I had pushed Jove down against the bed and straddled him very near seductively, "It's time to feed." But first I twisted my hand into his enjoying the rush of energy just a touch of his gave me, as if it were a drug. I ignored the twists of thoughts in his head, pushing away his very curious memories, and moving towards his immediate thoughts. All the while, I didn't notice that I had pushed his shirt up and was pressing my lips against the skin of his chest. Behind the sparks of energy with each touch, I inhaled his scent that was very alluring to the hunger inside of me.

I could feel his own thoughts confused between my thoughts and his own, feeling the same energy and also feeling the power I was unknowingly pushing over him that made him relax as if he were becoming drunk under me. I reached his neck, finding the point where his blood pressed the closest against his skin, and my fangs which had been out for hours now easily pierced his skin, letting his blood spill over my tongue. I started drinking, feeling the overall pleasure of finally devouring blood into my body, but also finding myself focusing on his own reaction through his thoughts. When Evanen had fed, his power pressed over the drunk feeling that made his victims feel powerless… paralyzed. I knew that the power to make the feeding more enjoyable for the victim was up to the feeder, but without knowing how, I had made my power feel seductive and pleasurable for Jove. I knew if I didn't stop on my own, he wouldn't stop me, being that he couldn't focus on his own doom any more than some random human.

Something about that made me feel sick, and I quickly removed my mouth from his bleeding neck. It was really hard to do, pulling myself away from the blood, but something about him being a vampire made it easier than I assumed it would be with a human. I hesitated, but then reconnected with his mind when I licked his wound which I realized wasn't healing like a regular vampire wound would have. Sure enough, when I moved away, his wound was healing now that I had licked it like I'd seen and felt Evanen do with me. Except with my wounds, licking it didn't so much heal as just prevent the wound from bleeding anymore. I assumed the healing part was because Jove was a vampire.

I knew I had fed enough once I was away from Jove, though, for the hunger which I felt would always be there wasn't as pronounced as it had been before. I felt slightly embarrassed for the way I had fed from him though. It had felt really intimate, and I wondered if it was just Jove or if I would act that way with any person I fed from. I was okay with making my victim feel pleasure when I fed, but I wasn't okay with feeling that same pleasure that made me do things such as making out with parts of their body before feeding from them…

Jove didn't move for a while after that, I assumed he was waiting for the effects of my feeding to wear off or waiting to gain his own strength. I didn't look too much at him while waiting, though, not wanting to see anything that may embarrass us later. After a moment, Jove sat up and touched the area on his neck which was now healed.

"That went differently than I expected," He finally said, his amazingly green eyes brighter than before and holding something in them that I couldn't pinpoint. I smiled shortly, amused by his amusement, before looking away shyly. "Did you get enough blood? You took a lot, but I feel like I could feed more if you needed to."

"No, I'm okay for now, but I think it would be helpful to feed from just you until I can figure it out," I replied, "If that's fine with you? I don't want you to feel like you have to be my feeding bag or something…" I looked at him, wanting to make sure I didn't see a sign of hesitation that would show he was uncomfortable with me feeding from him. I really did appreciate it, knowing I could probably control myself easier if I fed from him instead of some random human.

"It's okay," Jove told me, "Actually, it was very pleasant for me. You did really well." I smiled, happy he didn't think it was embarrassing or didn't make things weird. Jove moved in the bed to lie next to where I was, and I led down next to him as we had the day before. "I plan to teach you to defend yourself against vampires as well, once we're far enough away. There are some things you need to know about our world."

"Like what? Nothing can really kill me, can it?" I felt suddenly cocky, like nothing could really hurt me so there was nothing to fear. It was something unlike me… or who I used to be. I felt like someone completely different. I felt like I would be fine with killing anybody who would try to hurt me, and laugh about it.

"You don't know your strengths or powers yet," Jove said, "You may not be able to be killed, but you are able to be contained, whether it is by the Council, the VaMoS, or possibly even vampire hunters. You probably don't have to worry about vampire hunters though, they probably have no idea about you or the key to immortality."

"Oh… Who are the VaMoS?" I was peering at Jove, finding myself wanting to touch his skin again not only to satisfy the curiosity I had about his memories, but also to feel that warmth again. He didn't move his eyes from the ceiling, though I had no doubt he knew what I wanted and just was ignoring it for now for some reason. It was strange how different he acted towards me now that I wasn't human… not that he wasn't as interested, but in the restraint he kept from touching me as much and such.

"The VaMoS is a secret organization of elite vampires. It's short for the Vampire Movement Society, a society of vampires whose only goal is to recruit for the dawn of a Vampire Society, where vampires rule the earth rather than humans. Drewdon was one of their members, but I don't think they mentioned to you about his little club he was in," Jove told me darkly, "Though it's not little at all. The Council was in agreement with them, which is why they agreed to have Drewdon gain the immortality key to start the new race of vampires. There was a huge argument about the Rising in the government, but being that even some of the Council was a part of VaMoS, it was pointless."

"What did they argue against," I asked curiously, "Did some people not want the Rising to happen or something?" I wondered if there were vampires who preferred being in the dark, or maybe some who cared about humans.

"Well, mostly any arguments against the Rising were fear of the new race being created. After the power of the new race was given, either to human or vampire, that person could only create the new race using humans, who then could create more through humans. Needless to say, vampires now would end up the dying breed. Humans would be used for creation and feeding, and the new race would be indestructible. So what would the old type of vampires be used for, if not competition for food?"

It was intriguing to think people would want to contain me to keep me from making more of my kind. But at the same time other vampires like VaMoS wanted me to build an army. It was silly, though, for I wasn't planning on building this army and ending human kind. I wasn't going to curse more people with this disease. It wasn't like I was some huge hero made to save the world from vampires… I just really disliked what I was and I wasn't planning on making more like me. Plus, I wasn't very interested in ruling the world as a superior race.

"Eitherway, it came down to who would get the power, and seeing as Drewdon was a top member of VaMoS and founded Evanen himself, he became the ideal choice. Some disagreed, thinking someone of the Council should be appointed, but ultimately the votes won in Drewdon's favor," Jove finished. "I guess you got in the way of all that trouble, though. Everyone thought they'd be able to spot the One of Questions from a mile away." He smiled humorously.

I scoffed, not very impressed with the prophecy of me being the "One of Questions". I didn't ever think I was something too special, and honestly the only thing I had wanted was to go home. Instead, I ended up something more than a vampire, and now I was on the run with a very unlikely accomplice. But as I looked at Jove, I felt something warm inside that I could only feel was appreciation for his help.

"Thank you for helping me," I finally said, "I would no doubt have been caught easily if it wasn't for you, and you didn't have to throw away your life for me."

Jove finally turned his head from the ceiling to look at me. "I knew the moment I touched you that I would throw my life away for you one day." He held his hand out to me easily, making it easy for me to ignore it if I wanted to, but I didn't hesitate before I lightly touched his fingers and wrapped my hand against his. I could feel what he meant in that touch… that connection that sparked a dangerous energy, one that was demanding and spoke volumes. Jove was made to be mine, and I was made to be his, even if my heart hadn't reached that conclusion yet.


	5. Chapter Five: Memories

**Chapter Five**

_Memories_

There was something very intimate about feeding from Jove each time the hunger struck me. I was learning in time how to move through his mind, and with each discovery about him, I felt myself growing closer and closer to him in a way I'd never been close to anyone else before. Still, I couldn't call our situation love, being that I had loved Mikel… I had loved Evanen, if even for that short time, and what I felt for Jove was something different than just love; something hard to explain.

This depth of awareness Jove and I shared was bonding us closely, like we were two people beginning to turn into one without hesitation. I liked every part of Jove I saw in his mind, and he liked every part of me. I never doubted his intentions; never did he try to seduce me or use my power for his own gain. There was never an ill thought that suggested he was in any way an enemy to me. The only thing he felt was a need to teach me to survive intact, and to serve me to his ability, and I began feeling my own sense of protection for him, wanting to learn how to keep Jove from being taken away as well.

One morning, I had wrapped my legs around Jove and was kissing his neck sweetly and seductively, feeling him move pleasantly under me as I bit into his flesh and felt his blood greet my mouth. As I shifted through his mind, I focused on the distant memories, the ones Jove himself didn't actually remember but that were still there of his human life.

When Jove was a younger boy, he was a scoundrel, a pickpocket, and came from a family of alcoholics, whores, and abusers. But Jove himself was a kind boy, always trying to help feed his siblings, all of which were greedy and mean. Time would skip a lot in his mind, sometimes it would be moments of Jove stealing small food to Jove being beaten by his father for saying the wrong things during a drunken rage. Sometimes there were visits of other family members, but the only decent one was a small girl named Katha, who was Jove's cousin.

It was very different seeing Katha in Jove's mind than the Katha I had met in my time at the Draele house. Katha had been a cruel woman, with a face of an angel. She had a jealous rage that spoiled any mood she could have, and made her do things in anger to take out her past issues on innocent people. The Katha I knew hated me for being even remotely beautiful, feeling that beauty was fit only for the immortal, just as was proven to her when she spent her mortal life sick with leprosy and being teased until she was turned on a stranger's whim. She had killed my high school friend and potential mortal love, Darwin Jets, or D.J. as most people had called him by turning him into a vampire and having him starved. Her plan would have worked, but I had found him and killed him myself to rid him of his agony. And then she had been the cause of my slavery to "Sir" Trenton, a vampire member of the Council, who proceeded to try to kill me which ultimately resulted in the death of Mikel's unborn child. In all my hatred of Katha, I had, with the help of Evanen, slit her throat and stabbed her heart through with a silver dagger, ending her time in this world.

Now I could see her in Jove's memories, always smiling and being the light in Jove's dark early mortal days. She was kind to him, and they were something of best friends. I saw flashes of laughter and promises whispered in the dark, promises to be friends forever. It hurt my heart, seeing this, knowing I had taken her from this world and had never apologized about it to the one man who was helping me in my time of need. I moved my thoughts away from his memories to scan his more immediate thoughts, which were watching my memory of being undressed by Mikel in the quiet of the day. Automatically, out of embarrassment, I moved away from Jove, already having been finished with feeding from him and smiled.

"That's naughty, Jove, looking at memories you shouldn't be," I told him scolding, but he chuckled.

"I can't help it, I feel a bit jealous of Mikel sometimes, you loved him very much," Jove responded. "Besides, I noticed you were busy looking at days that have long gone in my mind, days with Katha and my childhood. I didn't think you'd notice." He teased a lot, but we had grown accustom to invading each other's privacy, so I couldn't really scold him for what he saw in my mind when I'd seen him undress women in his memories as well.

I hesitated. "I wanted to apologize for Katha… I know you know I killed her, but I didn't know what she meant to you before, all I knew was the person she showed me…"

Jove tisked, moving closer to me, "Hailence, I told you before, Katha and I weren't that close. Sure, when we were children we were, but she grew up to be very different after her illness. She was, as you know, a very jealous woman, and when she turned, she… perhaps it'd be better to show you." He held out his hand, and I knew the memories this time would be easier to see, and that to him it was important for me to see this part of him. I moved close to him, placing my hand in his, and swam around the thoughts in his mind. Immediate thoughts were ones of nervousness, personal, like he was telling me something he didn't share with others. I wanted to trace these immediate thoughts, though, because they were very fond of me and held memories of thoughts he'd had of me, but they pushed me towards his mortal life memories. I was curious, so I followed, looking through the images of a Jove that looked more the age of what I knew of him now.

Jove had been in love. It struck me because it was familiar, the way he connected to this woman who had the reddest blazing hair and the bluest eyes that looked at Jove with complete adoration. Jove was, though raised a scoundrel, a complete gentleman with this woman… Layla. He'd never laid a hand on her except in the most honest ways, and he fully intended to marry her. It was clear she felt the same for him. Images later and the engagement had already been declared, Jove was to marry his Layla, and they were going to be happy forever.

But then Layla was dead on the ground, torn to pieces. In fact, I would never have known she was Layla if it wasn't for the knowledge in Jove's own head. His screams of pain pierced me, they hurt so badly, and the only blame was on what used to be his best friend and cousin, Katha. She was bloodthirsty and jealous, angry and bitter. But her bond to Jove drove her to bite him, and share her own blood with him as was done to her while she rotted on the street. After this, there were a slew of memories, of touching thoughts, feeling people's deaths in his hands and head, and the pain of being lost and having lost everything.

I was pulled back into my own mind, and I knew that if I could, I would have been crying. "That's just horrible," I said to Jove sadly, "Katha hurt Layla out of jealousy, then turned you so she wouldn't be alone?" Jove was watching me curiously, obviously not believing this to be as touchy as a subject anymore. It felt so raw to me, being that I had just felt it all as my own memories, but I remembered it had been decades over decades ago for him.

"It's something of the same situation Mikel ended up in, wouldn't you think," Jove responded, "Katha has never liked being alone, but her jealousy pushes everyone away, and her selfishness doesn't help her at all. The minute I understood what I was, I got away from Katha, and I barely acknowledged her after that except being the only mortal relative I had still alive, and being my maker. And now she's gone for good, but she's always been dead to me." I suddenly felt a lot less guilty about killing Katha, though I remembered how it bothered me every night before I had changed. Something about being a vampire made death seem more acceptable, almost like killing someone wouldn't be a bad thing. I assumed it was some tactic to convince my body to feed off humans and kill them.

"You know, you're learning to speak slower and slower every day, soon you should be able to start learning to feed from people," Jove said, as though he knew what I had been thinking about. I was surprised about the slow speaking though, I hadn't noticed any difference. "I started speaking slower and slower so that you could get used to it gradually, and now we're just about to the point of normal speaking speed for humans. You're catching on well."

"Hmmm…," I said slowly, as though testing my voice, "When do I start learning to fight a bit?"

Jove laughed, amused, "Eagar to beat me up, huh?"

I nodded, "Not even a problem." Suddenly, Jove had pinned me down on the bed, and I was startled. We _had_ begun to do things slower, so now I was beginning to become unaware of faster speeds. But the hesitation was only a split second if that, and before waiting longer, I had pinned him to the ground. I still was stronger than him, and faster, but it was obvious I needed work.

Jove struggled only a little bit before giving up. "You definitely have the strength, just need to show you some moves and work on your awareness. We can start gradually while we're resting, and when we find a good solid place to hide I can begin extensive training. Once you learn the basics, you can learn how your mind skills can help—"

I interrupted, "Oh, could you teach me how to blind people? That would be awesome!"

He laughed, "Yeah, why not? As long as you don't use it on me…"

~...~

I found I was beginning to become lost in a different way than before. Rather than spending the days in semi-awkward silences, having myself sleep to avoid too much conversations, or focusing on my life on the run, I was finding myself becoming addicted to Jove. It was something similar to closing yourself from the world in order to play a video game non-stop. Only Jove was becoming addicted to me as well.

At some point, the feeding wasn't so much the reason why I found myself trailing my lips over Jove's skin and wrapping my legs around his waist. It was more the psychic bond that was warm and electric, pleasurable like a drug. It was escalating rapidly so that we could practically communicate without a word and we both couldn't wait until the sun was rising and we were alone in a room together spending the day in each other's arms. Jove was beginning to consume me completely, and I was fine with it.

Then the pace sped up even more one morning when we had just completed our night of running. The minute I moved into the room, I felt Jove's desire, and I drew him to me feeling my own hunger and desire. I did the usual, pushing him down onto the bed so that I could spread the wave of pleasure over him and bite into his flesh for the blood I craved. I felt his thoughts swimming in mine, his memories that were familiar and well known by now. I could see the image of Jove approached by the Vampire Council, who had heard of his unique mind ability, though unable to control minds. He was accepted rather quickly as the new Council Interrogator after plenty of dull tests and attempts of what I assumed were brainwashing techniques.

_The Council is above all. The Council is above all._

I was pulled back to the present when Jove was suddenly on top of me, pushing me against the bed with his hips and kissing my neck lovingly. Every teasing touch was more enjoyable than it had been when I was human, though those memories were unclear and uncertain. Then Jove did something I can't be sure if he came up with or I had; he pierced my own flesh with his fangs easily, drawing my own blood into him. We were both shocked by the static that shot through us at the blood trade. It was like his thoughts were clearer in my head than ever before and vice versa. The intense pleasure from our touch was increased and I suddenly pushed him upright so that I could better wrap myself around him and press my lips against his.

Jove was pressing at my skin under my shirt eagerly; I could feel him wanting to know my body with his as he knew my mind. I pulled off his shirt, wanting the same, but being distracted by his lips and his thoughts. I tugged at his pants a bit too roughly and they ripped easily. He laughed with me, never pulling his lips away from mine.

After a bunch of fighting with the clothes, Jove paused, pulling away only to look into my eyes. "Hailence," He said, and I could hear and feel him wanting me to know of the love he felt for me. It was sharp, intense, and demanding but at the same time gentle and timid.

"I know," I breathed, afraid of the feeling myself that I didn't want to name as love. I had loved before and it only brought death after death. "Jove…" My fears were solid, but Jove only pressed his lips against mine again, fading them away to the background.

"I know," He teased, smiling against my lips.

We made love the entire day. It was unlike any love I'd ever had in my short life and it was a memory I hoped I'd never forget in what looked like would be a very very long life.


	6. Chapter Six: Broken

**Chapter Six**

_Broken_

"You're sure I can do this," I asked uncertainly, hiding behind Jove timidly. Down the sidewalk further on was a night club, where people were walking in and out, most of which being college students. Apparently this was a hotspot for college club parties.

Jove handed me my pair of gloves easily, smiling at me charmingly. "Oh you can feed from a human no problem," But he knew what I meant, "Not so sure about them living though. We're going to practice mind controlling, though, and hasty feeding. You want to avoid contact as much as possible; the less you have, the less of a psychic bond you'll have, and the less risk it'll be a bond you won't want sticking with you. It's pretty unavoidable to gaining these bonds with every touch, but if it's only a temporary short touch or feeding, it won't really stick in your mind too prominently."

I prepped myself, putting on my gloves as though it were cold outside and rubbing my hands together. Because I could feel Jove's confidence, I felt confident myself that I wouldn't snap and hurt someone. But already I could smell the blood, very different from the vampire blood I'd been drinking, in the distance. I fought back my fangs that were beginning to itch their way from my gums. Jove grabbed my hands and rubbed them lovingly. There wasn't the warmth and electricity of our touch though because of the gloves, and I pouted.

"I know," Jove chuckled. It wasn't because he wanted me to stop feeding on him that he was taking me out to try feeding from a human tonight. Mostly it was because I didn't want him to be my blood bag for the rest of his life, but also he had a fear that he'd be hurt or killed and wanted me to be able to survive on my own with my sanity intact. He also wanted me to have practice with controlling the minds of humans so that I could move about the Earth without causing too much problems. I didn't like thinking of him not being with me, even if I was too afraid to admit loving him, I hated thinking of not having him in my arms again or pressing his lips against mine.

"You're distracting me," Jove told me teasingly, looking at the exit of the club waiting for a straggler; someone who was alone and not careful. I smiled and thought clearly of a rather naughty situation Jove and I had been in previously before coming out tonight. He briefly thought about doing this feeding another time, and I hit his arm as if he were the one being bad.

"Now is perfect, I'm ready to try it," I told him and pointed at a man who moved away from a group of exiting humans to turn down the side of the club building. "What do you think he's doing walking by himself down a dark alley?" I didn't understand how people who watched movies ever did this.

"Probably going to piss on the side of the building," Jove told me and I made a face, making him shrug. "If you gotta go, you've gotta go." He wanted me to feed from this person anyway. It would be an easy feed, quick and harmless. I rolled my eyes and followed Jove slowly; we were walking as humans. We passed the exit to the club and Jove turned in midstep slowly to pull me close to him, kissing me sweetly so that I smiled. We would appear as lovers, disappearing into the alley for some private make-out session.

When we were out of site, we moved down the alley further until we were in site of the man who was zipping his pants up, stumbling due to excess alcohol. Jove was correct as to what he was doing down here. Still, you'd figured I mean… watch a horror movie sometime? The man turned around to see us and frowned because we had stopped and were looking at him carefully.

"What the fuck are you lookin' at," He snapped suddenly, "You two love birds get the fuck outta here if you want to keep those pretty eyes." I frowned, turning my head to look at Jove. The man smelled horrible, but still under the lack of hygiene was that very appealing aroma of human blood. Against my own will, my fangs had already extended.

"He's rude," I told Jove humorously. I felt a little dangerous and for some reason it felt very good.

In a flash of moment, Jove had moved from beside me to pin the man against the wall without effort before biting into his neck hungrily. He didn't drink much at all, not wanting to risk it in case I lost control when I fed from him, but mostly wanting to scare the man for his rudeness towards us… particularly me. I could feel from the short contact the distaste of the mind bond Jove felt from this man, which was partially a good thing because it would mean I'd be less focused on the man's mind. But what I didn't account for was the man's scream which Jove had muffled within half a second with his hand.

"You'll need to practice your mind control now," Jove told me soothingly. He was unable to do it himself, but he'd tried enough before that he knew what was required. I knew that Jove wasn't sure if I'd have the same disability having the same mind invading powers as him, but something told him I would be able to control minds being that I was the key to immortality after all.

I moved to the man quickly, who was struggling furiously but wasn't fazing Jove at all. "Okay," Jove said to me, "Remember, you need to _want _what you're ordering. You feel what you want in the words and you force it through them, almost like a spell. The more specific you are in your wants, the easier the results will come." I nodded. Though I felt I would have been panicking at this situation, being so close to the human did something strange to me. The blood under his skin was calling to me, drawing me in dangerously, but I had to keep him quiet for Jove.

For Jove.

"Be quiet. Be still," I ordered sharply almost without realizing it. The feeling was… amazing. The amount of control I felt in those orders while they reached through the man's eyes and into his brain… he went rigid and silent instantly. I felt that control, similar to the psychic bond of touch, but not as pressing. It was like turning on a light switch. I could turn it off whenever I wanted, but also… I could just leave it on and never think of it again.

"Perfect," Jove said quietly, moving away. He was impressed but also I could feel something close to fear through him. It was a fear of possibilities… of what I could do if I actually tried. I hesitated. I didn't want Jove afraid of me. And then he wasn't anymore because of my own concern for him. "Sorry," He told me, "Go ahead and feed. Remember, try to keep to the surface, you don't want to keep the bond for too long or else this man will be in your head for the rest of his life."

I thought about hesitating… for about one second. And then almost without my own permission, I was bending the man's head to the side sharply and biting into his neck hungrily. It wasn't what I expected, which was something similar to feeding from Jove. It was… vicious. There was something about the man's mind that made me hate him; the flashes of rage in him that resulted in abuse, his lack of respect for people, and even his sick fear of me as I fed from him brought me a different kind of pleasure. The blood was… it was like I had been starving my whole life and was finally getting my first meal. There was no guilt, only me pushing away the thoughts of this man's anger and the pain he caused to his family and innocent people.

And then I was stuck. I couldn't let go of the blood, even though I could feel Jove trying to remove me. I couldn't stop even though I wanted his mind to stop being in mine. I wanted his mind to shut up and leave me in peace with the blood. I wanted him to shut up. I wanted his mind to go away.

And then it was black for him.

I backed up so roughly that I wasn't prepared for myself and ended up slamming myself against the opposite alley wall. I was… oh wow, I was in ecstasy. I rubbed my skin as if I were trying to rub lotion into my soft flesh. There was warmth like an alcoholic buzz that was caused by the blood. It was extremely satisfying, to say the least. But then I was beginning to feel Jove in me, distracting me from myself. He was worried and uncertain of how to deal with it… he was disappointed in himself.

I opened my eyes and looked at him as he stood in front of me, waiting for me to gain my senses. "I did something wrong," I told him, rather than ask. I could feel it, but I couldn't realize exactly what until I looked past him and at the limp dead body of the man I had just fed on. It was a jolt of horror that followed. I had just killed someone after all this time of being a vampire. I had thought I could do this as I did with Jove; harmlessly. But when I fed from that man I was a different person; angry and guiltlessly hungry. I had felt dangerous like a tiger looking at its pitiful prey before snuffing out its life.

"Hailence," Jove called carefully, holding my face in his hands as I began panicking, "Calm down. I know, I know. It isn't your fault, it's hard, I know." I wasn't feeling any better. I was horrified with myself. I had done it… I had killed what was left of me. Every promise I told Mikel… myself… broken and dead like the man on the ground in this alley. I felt mortified, stunned into a silence at what a different person I was now.

Jove pressed his forehead against mine, pushing away the cold silence with the warmth of the bond so that I could hear him clearly through me. "You can't think you're weak or a monster," He told me soothingly, trying to comfort me from the pain, "I don't know one vampire who hasn't slipped and hurt someone. It's near impossible to keep your head at first, I know that." There was a flash of his first kill which I'd seen before already, reminding me that even Jove who now could feed without a problem also couldn't control himself for years after he'd been turned.

"I only had Katha, who wanted us to destroy humans," Jove said to me, "You have me. I'll help you, Hailence." I blinked, trying to focus on Jove only so that I wouldn't lose my mind completely. We needed to leave. The message was clear in his head; he was worried we'd be caught here, that people would see us and it would travel to the Council which would lead them to us. I let him lead me away from the scene.

When we were alone in a room as the sun was rising, I moved to the bed where it was clear in my heart that I wanted to be alone even though it hurt Jove. And I forced myself to sleep for the first time in weeks.


	7. Chapter Seven: Uncertainty

**Chapter Seven**

_Uncertainty_

Even though I didn't have the heart, Jove insisted on my learning to feed from humans. He decided, based on what he saw on my first attempt, that it would be best to start a risky version of feeding that was similar to feeding on dead blood. Or what vampires considered dead blood which was blood not fresh from the vein. Jove began finding victims, bleeding them enough to mostly fill a water bottle, and then releasing them. At the same time, he insisted I feed from him as well in case the blood didn't get to me fresh enough. He was worried I'd be in Mikel's situation, which I didn't see what the problem was with that because I doubted I would die.

"But you'd be weak," Jove said to me sharply, "And you need your strength to fight against what we're running from. You need to be able to learn these things." He'd been getting a bit stressed lately, trying to figure out ways for me to feed without risking my 'soft' heart. It worried me, seeing him running about finding victims that he can't make forget they'd seen him. He was worried this process would end up with us being caught eventually.

I did what he wanted without complaint. I didn't want him to have to stress himself for me. I fed from water bottles that made me snap each time, forgetting my own mind and basically destroying the bottle each time to get more of what wasn't there. When I fed from Jove afterwards, I found myself relaxing in his arms, learning to remember myself through the bloodlust. It was a slow process, but I could feel myself gaining my control. And I was thankful for Jove being there for me, comforting me and loving me through the quiet days. Even though I wanted to push him away, afraid of getting him killed as if the death of those I loved was ultimately a curse, I would still pull him closer. I needed him.

And then as the days and nights passed, the time came when I found myself drinking human blood Jove had given me and having the ability to…

"Stop," Jove told me softly, and I pulled my lips away from the bottle's mouth; albeit a bit reluctantly. He smirked, pleased as I looked at him patiently. "Okay, continue but only take one drink then stop and repeat." I did what he said which was ridiculously difficult. Human blood tasted so… vital. Like I would die without it and needed more and more. It was strange. Still, I had practiced my control and I drank from the bottle slowly; one drink at a time before pausing and doing it again. I felt in my own mind, able to control myself as if it were a very addicting normal drink.

"I think we can try again, now," Jude said happily, "Unless you want to wait?" I could feel his desperation for me to learn this vital thing. He could sense some of the council members in the back of his mind, like a feeling. They were getting closer to finding us. Jove was thinking about having us leave the country, except that it would be difficult for him to avoid the sun this way. He considered just sending me to somewhere where he couldn't be before… somewhere in Alaska, where the sun shines for days. But I refused point blank.

"I think I'm ready," I said uncertainly, but determinedly.

"It's good to do it when you've already fed, you won't be as hungry," Jove stated, standing up to head out. I followed him almost like a child, staying behind him closely nearly shyly. This time we were walking down an empty street, and he was looking at the houses we were passing. At first I was looking around for a sign of maybe a party or something that Jove was looking for, but then I realized through our bond that he was searching the houses for someone living alone.

"We're going to feed from someone in their home," I asked curiously. I guess it was normal of a vampire to try that, but automatically I could feel Jove disagreeing with that thought.

"Vampires need permission to enter a human's home," Jove told me, "You can just mind control them to make them invite you in, but I want to see if you can enter on your own without permission." It was something I never even asked as "the One of Questions". I was so cooped up in one house as a human with vampires so that I never had to wonder if they needed to be invited into a house. I never saw the thought crossing Jove's mind before being he couldn't control humans like others so he never tried feeding from one's home. But then when I had met Evanen at that party…

"When Evanen kidnapped me, he walked into a home without permission," I said uncertainly.

"He, like what I expect of you, was an exception," Jove responded, pausing in front of a house. It was a small one and there was only one person inside. A woman. I wondered if she lived alone or if she was just alone for that particular night. Nonetheless, Jove gestured to the door, which was locked. "Go ahead and see if you can go in."

I grabbed the doorknob, half expecting it to burn me, but when nothing happened I twisted it sharply so that it snapped and then shoved the door open. The way I forced the door open left the area around the doorknob extremely damaged, but I figured it wouldn't be too harmful if I didn't kill this woman… I hesitated only a second before walking into the house easily. Jove only looked from the doorway as I turned to look at him.

"Go on without me, you can do it," He told me pleasantly, but then his face changed as he saw something behind me. If I had better practice being a vampire and actually knowing how I worked, I probably could have avoided the resulting situation easily. But… alas, I am a very horrible vampire. And that is how I got shot in the back with a pistol four times.

It was very… different. There wasn't so much pain as… a kind of burning you'd get from rubbing a sore muscle. It was like my body wasn't so much worried as just wanting to let me know that there were four bullets in my skin. And that's right… it was just in my skin, deep enough to get lodged but not strong enough to go through the muscle. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked, not so much because I was in pain but more because… well this was the first time I'd been shot before. It was strange to think that if at this very moment I were human, I would have died.

And then the feeling passed. Instead, I turned around to look at a petite blonde woman who looked horrified by the fact that I seemed pretty much unfazed by being shot. I considered playing with my food. I considered turning my head to the side creepily, smile, and tell her that was naughty… and then I felt bad for considering this woman as just food. It was hard to remember that I had been just like her; stupid and weak.

"Stay calm, still, and quiet," I ordered her, feeling that reach of control over her that felt of nothing but power. And then I moved close to her, smelling her blood beneath her skin waiting to be devoured by me. I moved her hair out of the way of her shoulder, reminding myself that I was in control. I could stop whenever I wanted... And then I bit down on her shoulder. There was a small warm feeling humming through the contact of my mouth on her skin. It wasn't so much bad as just… comfortable. She wasn't a bad person at all except for the average partying and occasional lying.

I didn't stay connected long, feeding just until I felt I would be satisfied awhile, and then I moved away from her after licking the wound on her shoulder. I looked into her eyes. "Forget I was ever here and that this ever happened." And with that, I had fed for the first time without harming someone. I walked out of the house very pleased, Jove stepping beside me sharing the feeling.

"You'll need to help me get these bullets out of my back," I told him with a laugh. Then I became quiet. A part of me was happy I had actually had the control to feed from someone without killing them, but then another part of me felt guilty that I even had to feed from people. That woman would wonder how she got that wound on her shoulder, how her bullets in her gun went missing, and how her door was broken because of me. Who knows? It could end up a huge problem. I could feel her like a sixth sense in the back of my mind taking her place as a victim of mine, though relatively unharmed, there until she would die.

"The important thing is that you didn't ruin or end her life completely, Hailence," Jove interrupted my thoughts, no doubt feeling my concerns next to me. "You have to realize that… that you could have ended up killing hundreds of humans and now…"

"I've _only _killed one," I responded sarcastically.

"I wish it was zero," Jove said, "But you can't blame yourself for it. This is something forced on you and either you learn to control it to your best ability or you let it control you."

"Okay, okay," I sighed, wrapping my arm around Jove's and leaning my head against his shoulder, "I just never wanted to lose myself and I already feel so different… I used to be so curious… so sarcastic even and trying to find the humor in things but now I'm just… I feel like I've aged hundreds of years and nothing is important now." Jove entwined his hand in mine, our gloves keeping the static warmth from reaching through us. "Except for you… you're important now."

He smiled at me, "I don't consider you a different person. You're just growing. And besides, I don't love you for your mood; I love you for you no matter what you choose to be." My breath very nearly was caught by his admitting of his love for me, even though I had felt it through him for a long time now. I had never heard it leave his lips. I didn't respond saying I loved him, only because I refused to admit myself that this was what I felt for him. I still couldn't be certain why except that I was afraid to let myself admit it. Or maybe I didn't really love him, not yet. Maybe it was the change… my need for his help to survive, the psychic bond, it all just flooded my thoughts and I couldn't be sure what I felt. So I didn't respond like how people expect you to in the movies. But Jove didn't complain or feel hurt. He understood me unlike anyone could merely because in a way he was me.


	8. Chapter Eight: Captured

**Chapter Eight**

_Captured_

Things on the run with Jove changed late one night. A couple of hours before the sun would be rising I had decided to go out for a feeding which I was learning to do on my own without Jove. Learning to hunt was another one of those important things Jove wanted me to be skilled at. I usually found someone walking along the street or leaning alone against a building… as long as they were alone it didn't matter much to me. It was easy after I chose my next meal. I'd just keep them quiet, feed, make them forget, and then let them go. Catch and release.

But as I said… things changed one night.

I was walking along the sidewalk in the downtown area of the city we were in. It was a decent sized city. A signed down the road said Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was a long way away from home. But then again I didn't really have a home anymore. The thought startled me. For a moment, I had let my mind cross over to the thought of my father, Bartholomew Truit. I could recall with some difficulty his tired grey eyes, his loud voice that somehow laughed even when things were all wrong, and his calm personality that seemed to do nothing but worry underneath. I wondered if he ever thought of me as he lived his life back at Merit, Missouri. His Wynnie. The last news I had from him was that he was with another woman, hopefully happy without me. I had been the only family he had before I had been taken away by Evanen. I remembered my younger brother, Seanel Truit, who had died a week after his birth. I could remember the day my mother disappeared from our broken lives.

It was pointless to remember. I wasn't Hailence Truit anymore. That girl died when Evanen died; when the key to immortality was born. I didn't even feel like I'd recognize myself if I saw myself through the old Hailence's eyes. Here I was, walking about in the middle of the night, looking for a human to bleed. I never thought I'd end up here.

My thoughts were interrupted by the smell of blood. I froze sharply. I wasn't as much in control of my hunger as I liked to pretend I was. Automatically, my fangs were sharp in my mouth and my blood was burning for the blood I could smell in the air. Part of me felt like I should avoid this person who was bleeding though because Jove had warned that I should pick my victim rather than my victim picking me to avoid situations. It wasn't as if this person was picking me per say… just unlucky perhaps.

I followed the scent blindly, walking off the sidewalk and between buildings. As I got closer, I could hear a small sound of crying echoing in a way that would be difficult to hear at a certain distance. It was a woman… or a child; perhaps a teenage girl. I wondered if this person was being hurt. If so I could feed off of her terrorizer and it would make me feel loads better about myself. I wouldn't mind being somewhat helpful considering my situation… I rounded the corner until I could see the girl cowering against a wall and holding her hand which I identified as being injured. She had hair black as a raven, pale skin that almost glowed in the night due to my enhanced eyesight, and though her sobbing sounded something of panicked her heart was a steady beat in her chest. It made me hesitate.

I must've made a noise because she looked up at me with equally black eyes as her hair. She looked relieved to see me, but something of a nervous thud echoed in her heart. Perhaps she was slightly afraid of seeing a stranger in this remote place but also relieved it was a woman? It made me relax a bit.

"Please, help me," She asked me, though I wasn't near enough to her to actually think she'd care about my attention. I was still only just at the corner, but she was loud enough for a human voice to hear. I wondered if she _could_ tell I was a woman? Maybe she didn't care if I was a man or woman, but just wanted help.

"What's the matter with you," I asked slowly, matching her voice speed, but it felt very strange to be having a… somewhat normal conversation with a human being. The only thing I had said to humans since my turning were pure orders to control their minds.

"I'm hurt," She sobbed again.

"Yes but why don't you just stand up and go to the hospital," I asked curiously. She wasn't bleeding profusively, I could tell. She was only wounded on the palm of her hand, like it had been cut. "Did you break your legs?" I don't know why I was being rude or… sarcastic. I just… I don't know I guess I felt this girl was just strange to me.

She only sniffled before saying, "I feel down and twisted my ankle. Help me to the hospital, please."

I had thought I came down here specifically to feed off an easy target, but after seeing her alone in a very remote place with no signs of struggle in the area or blood spotted anywhere else… it just didn't click. "I could call the police instead," I told her uncertainly, "I'm pretty weak…"

"It's okay, I can mostly stand on my own I just need a little help," The girl said, "Come here." I waited, looking back to where I came from. I could just leave and let someone else find her. But then it could be someone dangerous… well not as dangerous as me but perhaps someone more intent on causing harm. "Please." Bleeehhh…

I walked unsteadily towards her, her blood dripping into my senses and making me feel reckless and unaware. As I got closer to her, I failed to notice an opening to the left of me in the wall which happened to be another large alley between two buildings. See, if I were a good vampire with good self-control and proper awareness that you'd figure vampires would naturally have, I would have noticed a steel vehicle parked in that alley. I would have been able to take my focus off the deliciously bleeding girl and her beating heart to notice there were other quiet beating hearts waiting in the shadows. But sadlly, I just didn't quite know myself as a vampire and so as I moved towards the girl and into the area where the alley was open to the vehicle, I was caught by surprise when I was suddenly swiped off my feet and into the steel vehicle, which was shut behind me, locking me into a pedo-van full of silver cuffs, stakes, and three very eager and excited men.

I guess I was kind of shocked. Before I knew it, I was slammed against the wall of the now moving vehicle, forced into seating position on a metal bench like object. My head, wrists, arms, legs, and ankles were all strapped into these solid steel cuff-like contraptions that were meant to keep me strapped to the wall of the steel vehicle. I could smell the pure silver in the metal and I almost laughed. But I stopped myself. There was no need to get cocky.

"She's not burning," One man yelled to the front of the vehicle where a wall with a bolted door was blocking the ones in the driver and passenger seat on the other side. "Are you sure she's a vampire?" They knew what I was… and yet they weren't vampires themselves. I could tell by their appearances and their smell. They were human.

_Vampire Hunters_.

The words were Jove's, he already knew I was captured. He was already running through the street heading towards where I had saw the bleeding girl and was planning on tracking me down in case I didn't get out myself. Jove, my personal hero.

_Fight them. The cuffs won't contain you. _I wasn't sure if I should fight in the way he meant it though… it would mean hurting them… irreparably.

"Check her teeth," another man said to the third, elbowing him. I felt the man move closer to me, eyeballing me carefully. He pushed his fingers against my warm skin curiously, pressing down against the human softness of it. It made him look at the other man and shake his head. "Still, check her teeth."

The man finally reached for my mouth and placed a thumb on both my upper and lower lip, shaking with uncertainty. I could just snap his fingers off… I could break these cuffs, remove myself from this wall, and kill each of these men. I could snap off the door to the front, making the hunters scream in terror before I ripped the throat of the driver and let the vehicle crash, leaving the one in the passenger seat either dead or in utter pain. But I couldn't. I didn't want that image on my mind. I used to be human myself. I had to keep telling myself that, I used to be human. I couldn't just take away these three men's lives. Not when whatever they plan to do won't actually harm me any… I could wait until Jove found me, which I was sure he would. Or wait until they were trying to move me and just break out without touching them. Maybe I could break these cuffs and break through the back of the van.

Nonetheless, my plans were all iffy and I fail at immediate action, another reason why I'm a failure at being a vampire. Instead, I let this hunter pull apart my lips and show my sharp fangs which confirmed what I was to them, no matter how peculiar I was, and they were banging on the door to the driver to let him know they caught a live one.

"Don't think about trying to escape, there's enough silver in there to keep you weak and we could stake you easily," the first man snarled at me.

I couldn't help it. I had to tease a bit. "I'm not worried about silver. I'm more wondering about how I could escape without killing one of you. I'm new to this whole thing so I'd just knock all of you out but… I'm afraid I don't know my own strength."

They all laughed. The first man, being the cockiest, responded easily. "You couldn't even break out of those bindings if you wanted to." I thought about it for a minute, a part of me wanting to break free just to scare them but another part of me feeling guilty for wanting to do that. I could end up killing one or all of them if I did that. I could already hear their blood pounding through them and I was very hungry…

Instead, I opted to do just a little bit of showing off. I focused my strength on my legs, flexing them in their cuffs for a second before straining against the silver metal. At first, it only groaned, and the men pointed weapons at me but were generally unconcerned. I smiled, pushing just a bit more, not adding all my strength to the equation in case I popped the cuffs off and a piece flew at one of the men and killed them… I didn't want that. Sure enough, the metal groaned again and then screeched as I pried it off of the wall of the vehicle.

"What the…," The men were staring in horror. I completed pushing the cuffs off of my ankles and legs, before bending my right leg to cross over my leg comfortably and smiling coyly. It was the first time beyond running that I actually tested out a bit of my muscle and I was a little pleased with the results.

"You can stake me if you want as well, I won't die," I told them without much concern.

Obviously I had shaken them enough to cause doubt and a bit of fear to override whatever mission they had previously planned. The first guy, recognizing my strength as something they probably should be worried about, took me up on my offer saying "Oh, yeah?" and, as if calling a what he thought was a bluff, grabbed a silver stake and began walking bravely towards me. The stake looked similar to what Evanen used to hide in his wardrobe… the stake I had used to stab D.J. in his heart. It had went through him like he was made out of water, and he had withered to a corpse in my arms. I never had actually been stabbed with a stake yet, and I wondered if it actually would kill me or not… But then I really didn't mind if I died. I was an abomination, and a danger to humankind. So I took the risk and instead of kicking this man in half, I let him stomp to me and swing his hand out swiftly in an effort to drive the silver stake into my chest.

I would guess it was something like stabbing the wall I was cuffed to except that the silver stake actually cut into my human-like skin and was met with my solid metal-like muscle where it refused to go any further. I couldn't even say I felt any pain, so much as a light pinch. I was looking at the stake the man was trying to shove further into me curiously, watching him fail miserably. Like I said, it was much like what I imagined it would be like to watch him trying to stab the stake into the wall behind me; relatively useless.

The man backed up, and all three hunters were looking at me as if I were something more freakish than a freaky vampire. "Don't worry," the third hunter said, "We'll just have her starve with the rest." I wondered if I should tell them that I had a psychic connection to another very powerful vampire who could follow my mind as he would a simple scent. But then I again I didn't want a chance for them to capture Jove and stake him, which _would _kill him. Instead, I decided to let them capture me and take me to their little place where they would starve me… not for long hopefully.

The vehicle lurched to a stop, and I had multiple steel poles with silver clasps at the end of them wrapped around my neck, wrists, ankles, and even my waist. The three hunters led me out of the vehicle where I planned to run away, but the plan was stopped short when the minute my feet were outside of the vehicle, I was falling away. I had been dropped into a rabbit hole, feeling like this would be something from Alice and Wonderland. I tried to focus on which way was down, and bent my body so that my feet were facing towards the ground.

I landed harshly on my feet, crouching down so that my hands also hit the ground and kept me from falling over. If I had been human or perhaps even a normal vampire, I imagined my bones would have snapped at the landing and I would have maybe even cracked my skull. Instead, I was unharmed and somewhat confused. Where was I?


	9. Chapter Nine: Rabbit Hole

**Chapter Nine**

_Rabbit Hole_

I looked up to see only darkness. Wherever I was, I had been thrown down a rabbit hole and the top was now cut off from the world. For a minute, I only looked up at the very wide circular well that I had been tossed down. It fell down an amazing distance of a drop as if I was well over 50 feet into the ground, and then at some point, the walls of the well disappeared out into rooms that I was now confined to. One glance around showed me a mass of vampires hanging around the ground, some in cells, and some just lying on the ground. There were corpses as well of starved vampires. Not many looked like they were here fresh besides me.

After a moment, I decided to test out a bit of my vampire strength. First, I ripped the clasps around my neck, wrists, legs, and waist away with ease. And then I moved towards where the edge of the well wall folded to become the ceiling of the holed dungeon I was now in. I looked at it, at the slick slime coating the wall that had no indentions, areas to grip, or anything on it. It was just a solid slick steel well that was molded with grease to make it impossible to climb. I had to try though.

I looked at my hands, bending them into hooks nearly, wanting them to be sharp and solid. And then when I pinpointed my position I wanted to start with, I jumped high into the air. It was amazing to feel like I could fly. I watched the wall appear closer and closer with ease until finally I swung my right hand back and then forward as I reached the wall. My fingers drove into the metal, indenting it to wrap around the shape of my fingers due to the force of my strength, but also my skin was ripped from my fingers, peeling back so that only the solid muscle remained. It didn't hurt like I thought it would, and within seconds the skin was healed in its place in the metal.

I bent my left hand back and slammed it into the wall as well, my feet scrambling against the very slick wall and finally being left to dangle. They were quite useless. I was glad that my strength made my ability to carry my body with just my fingertips possible without too much strain. I could hear movement below me and when I glanced down, vampires that had probably tried themselves to escape but couldn't touch the silver of these walls were staring in awe. They all looked so… pitiful. I never remembered seeing a pitiful vampire as a human. Even D.J., starved in his cage, was something frightful when he was trying to lure me into his arms to feed upon me.

I shook myself out of my thoughts though, feeling the slick of the wall starting to make my grip loosen. I couldn't just hang here if I wanted to climb this slick smooth wall over 50 feet up. So I pulled my right hand back and as fast as I could I slammed it further up into the wall, gripping a death grip so that I could repeat the process with my left hand. Then I began making my way up oddly, loudly, with my feet only becoming useful when they could somewhat lodge into where I had left an indention with my fingers.

The problem came with the slime. It kept building and building on my hand, between my fingers, and each time I moved one hand out of the wall to move it up, the other was slipping out as a result. So I was continuously slipping and struggling to hang out. I got maybe five feet… and then when I pulled my left hand out of the wall to swing another hole a bit up, my right hand slick with slime slipped out just as easily, leaving me falling towards the ground again. Fuck gravity.

I landed in the middle of all the vampires, unharmed, and wiped the slime on my clothing before looking up some more. One vampire touched my arm, sending a shock of psychic thoughts through me that were very unpleasant. I pulled my arm away sharply, but the others began to touch my humanlike skin, drawn by the false pretense my appearance gave them. I didn't _look_ like a vampire to them. I looked like a practically flawless human. There was even a flush in my cheeks from the exercise I had just put myself in.

Still, their touches brought waves of minds into mine, and I wasn't enjoying it at all. With super vampire strength, I shoved them all back and sped to a different side of the room. It was obvious I had vampire abilities, so it was stupid of them to think I was something of a human. Still, they were starved.

"Stay back," I yelled at them, baring my fangs threateningly. "I have no problem with ending a vampire's life." Amazingly, this rung very true in my heart before I even knew it. There was something less guilty about killing a supernatural being that was already dead.

"You seem human," One vampire said in a daze, the others still trailing towards me hungrily.

"I am no human," I snarled, fangs still clear both as a threat and as proof of my lack of humanity, "You have eyes and you can see that. Anyone who dares to touch me will die." My blood was pumping, and the smell of their blood was… well it was enticing. Not so much as that of humans but really I could survive on vampire blood easily. There was something of a thrill in being surrounded by these vampires. I remembered being human at Evanen's house, being led by Drewdon into a room full of vampires just as The Rising started. He had offered me to all the vampires to be killed. I had been surrounded and frankly scared to death.

Now I felt… a rush. I wasn't scared at all. If anything, I kind of wanted them to attack me. I was curious as to how I could fight them off. And I was hungry. So when the first vampire, delirious from starvation, lunged at me, I was almost startled by the speed in which I grabbed his head, leaping over and behind him before snapping his right arm behind him to where the bone was showing, and then biting into his throat hungrily. I only fed for a couple of seconds before thrusting my hand into his back and ripping out the heart in his chest. He shriveled to a decomposed corpse on the ground.

And then they all attacked me. I ripped through them; ignoring their minds even though some of them didn't have unpleasant bonds… most of their thoughts were just blind hunger. I ended that pain for all those who attacked me. I did it without much effort but rather with much blood thirst and enjoyment. I became a completely different person. And yet when they all were dead, I didn't feel a deep guilt. I felt… empty. I think that was what scared me most. It made me pause, looking up at the rabbit hole.

I was empty. I was lost. I was a killer…

I didn't deserve to escape this hole. Perhaps it would be best for everyone if I just stayed here forever, feeding off of vampires who fed off of the humans of this world. I'd be the monster at the bottom of the well, carrying out the sentence of humankind. And it didn't seem like a bad idea to me.

That is… until I felt Jove through our psychic bond. He wouldn't leave me here even if I wanted him to. Already he was closing in on my location and it wouldn't be long before he would rip his way through the hunters and find me. And if I didn't help him help me, I'd just get him stuck down here with me.

With that thought, I wiped off the blood of the dead vampires on my clothes and rubbed my hands together, bending my knees. I leapt through the air, slamming my hands into the very same indentions I started with, only making the dent deeper so that it was easier to hold on to, and followed the first path I started on. I focused on making each of my previous indentions deeper, wiping away what slime I could, and when I reached where I had left off, I began making more holes in the silver wall above the five feet marker.

Though I got further up, it would begin to become more difficult to not slip away, and I found myself falling again and again. But each time, I made it further and further up the wall. By the time Jove found me, I'd be able to make it to where the well was closed off, and he'd be able to help me through it. At least, that's what the message he was sending in my head was saying. I trusted him, not wanting to let him down, and so I peeled back the skin on my fingers over and over, falling onto my feet and hands repeatedly, and spending supernatural energy to fight my way to the top of this rabbit hole… not for myself, but for Jove.


	10. Chapter Ten: VaMoS

**Chapter Ten**

_VaMoS_

I couldn't be sure how long I kept at it; climbing that impossible wall just to get closer and closer to the top but have the top so far away. The other starving vampires in the hole were at first vaguely interested by my conquest, but after hours of me attempting to climb to the top and escape, they became bored and lost all interest in my doings. But then the time came when I finally reached the top.

I looked up from where I was to see a solid silver top to the well. I stared at it for a bit and considered attacking it to see if I could just break through myself, but Jove told me not to. He was here. So instead, I started slamming my fist into the wall where I was to make my grip on the wall easier to keep ahold of. I really hoped Jove didn't get hurt… It would suck a lot if he ended up killed by these vampire hunters.

While I waited I began to realize that I was a bit hungry. Perhaps I should have snacked before I finished climbing this wall… I looked down into the hole, only slightly thinking about jumping down to grab someone to feed on before climbing back up, but Jove was already here and that would probably be inconvenient. It was strange how now I was a type of person who just considered feeding on vampires as a snack rather than the human I used to be who didn't want to hurt anybody really…

There was noise above and so I focused my attention on keeping my grip on the wall and focusing on the bond between Jove and I. Now that he was so close, the bond we had was even stronger. I watched the top of the well intently as though I could see through it. Jove was fighting through the hunters quickly, struggling to pass by them and reach me rather than kill them all. He amazed me at his fighting skill, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to me considering how old he was compared to me. Jove was closing in towards my position when I recognized the problem he had walked into. There were a slew of hunters all waiting for him at the well.

_Jove!_ I called out through our bond. Automatically, he tried to block my voice out, which I wasn't used to at all. I almost slipped from my spot against the wall in my concentration, but quickly got my grip again. In the time that I lost my concentration of the situation above, something had happened.

There were more vampires with Jove. I was startled by the furiousness of the random group of vampires, all of which were unfamiliar and attacking the hunters viciously. Jove didn't know them as well, but he fought along if only to reach me. While the fight continued, he grabbed a crowbar and wedged it in the silver top of the well, prying it away until my eyes were no longer in his mind but looking into his face. He smiled at seeing me with relief.

And then he was shoved forward.

"Jove," I cried out as he stumbled over the edge and over me. I quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist before he fell completely below, but automatically he was swung against the silver wall and screamed. In our bare touch, I felt his pain as my own; the silver burning into his skin. At the same time, a hunter was aiming a gun at my head no doubt with silver bullets. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger five times, pumping the bullets into my skin and startling me. They didn't cut past my skin, but was lodged in my skin due to how small they were. Before he could continue, a vampire snapped his neck and tossed him down the well over me.

Dizzy from Jove's pain, I tightened my grip and with desperate strength I swung him away from the wall and over the top of the well, letting go so that he was tossed across the floor. The action had loosened my other grip on the wall and I felt myself beginning to fall into the depths of the hole again. Then my wrist was grabbed by a vampire, his mind bursting into mine. Out of all the things the vampire's mind called out to me, one defining word rang over everything else.

_VaMoS._

I tightened my grip to wrap around his wrist, pulling myself up while at the same time pulling him down sharply. My strength startled him, but before he could do anything about it I had already climbed over the top of the well and had tossed him down it. I turned to face the other vampires with my fangs bared and furious, while simultaneously pulling out the silver bullets from my skin. The VaMoS had found Jove and me.

Automatically, I grabbed the first vampire, slamming my fist into his chest and leaving the remains of the silver bullets in his heart before tossing him down the hole behind me. I went to attack another vampire when I was interrupted by sharp pain in my chest. Only it wasn't my pain. Jove.

"Halt right there, Hailence Truit," A very deep voice ordered sharply. I turned to him carefully. It was a man that resembled a vampire I knew to be dead; Drewdon. He was tall, dominating, with dark black hair that fell down his back at the moment in a low ponytail. He even wore the signature suit Drewdon was always found in, though his eyes weren't yellow but a dark brown. There was a difference in facial structure as well as the difference my vampire eyes showed me that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise as a human. At the moment, this man had his hand in Jove's back, near his heart threateningly. Jove was half conscious at the moment, the side of his body burned horribly by the silver. It ached to see him this way.

"Remove your hand from his body," I ordered darkly, noting the amount of vampires surrounding me at the moment. They were steadily increasing as time moved by, obviously preparing for a massive attack from me. I wondered if I could kill this vampire before he could kill Jove and destroy everyone here before they could do anything about it. But I severely doubting I had the skill for it. I wouldn't risk Jove being killed.

"You will surrender yourself here, now, and listen to what I have to say or else I will kill Mr. Jove Silverstone right here," The man demanded darkly, his tone reminding me of Drewdon's own voice of authority. I wondered if this man was related or if all the inner VaMoS vampires resembled each other closely like this. I hesitated at the demand, though. To give myself up to VaMoS would mean the possible end of humankind. They'd want me to create a new race and aid in enslaving all the humans. But at the same time the vampire had tightened his grip in Jove's chest to suggest his complete sincerity.

I retracted my fangs, relaxing my hands, and lowered my guard. "Fine," I submitted. Surely I could find a way out of this over time, but at the moment it was Jove's life at stake. "But let him go or else I won't go anywhere with you or your pitiful friends."

"As you wish," The vampire stated pleasantly, releasing his grip of Jove quickly causing me to wince. He shoved Jove back towards the other vampires, who gripped his half-conscious form as if he were their life raft. "We'll be keeping close tabs on him in case you decide to otherwise… struggle." I narrowed my eyes, watching as the near-Drewdon vampire began to stroll easily towards me. He no doubt felt safer now that he had a solid leverage against me.

"You're VaMoS," I stated, somewhat asking for confirmation.

"I'm Tobias Draele, the current Head of Chair of the Vampire Movement Society," He was now in front of me, holding out his hand which was gloved carefully. I somehow knew he did it purposely to prevent me from knowing too much. Somehow he knew of my powers or at least a part of them. I didn't reach out to accept his handshake, but rather looked into his eyes determinedly. This vampire was powerful and old, sure, but there was still that telltale feeling of weakness under his skin; that his bones could break easily and his heart could be ripped out swiftly and that a piece of silver would cut through him hungrily. If he didn't currently have Jove's life in his hands, I would have nothing to fear.

"Draele…," I said slowly, "You're related to the Draele's? Drewdon?"

"My nephew and I do have some physical resemblances, I'm sure you've noticed," Tobias tilted his head, reaching his hand towards my face. I didn't move, not really concerned that he'd be able to hurt me, but at the same time I didn't like for someone I didn't know who was related to someone who actively tried to kill me and humankind to touch me. He twisted a bit of my hair between his gloved fingers, moving it to the side before touching the side of my face. I'm sure he was noting my perfectly humanlike skin, the warmth that he could no doubt feel through his gloves, and the flawless skin that had silver bullets in it not ten minutes ago.

"You wish to make more like me; to enslave humans," I said darkly.

"I don't see why you would care much about humans at this point. You have barely any connection to them and in fact feed off of them now," Tobias responded, "We wish to come out from the shadows; to take our place out in the sun in this world and put humans where they belong. We're the superior race…"

"You'll never go out into the sun," I interrupted, "What makes you think you and your vampire kind won't just be killed off?"

"Our kind and yours are related," Tobias said to me determinedly, "It will be because of us that your kind will be born. You will give us our freedom on this Earth; the ability to feed freely and to become what we're meant to be. You will owe us."

"Just like humans made and make vampires," I answered skeptically, "We all were humans once. We're all more related to humans that I am to your kind. You think because you feed off humans, are stronger than them, and faster that you are superior. Well, I feed off your kind; I'm stronger than you, faster, without your silly weaknesses, and indestructible. I see you as nothing but food. Pitiful, self-righteous food. Sound familiar?"

"Well then, if vampires are just food to you, you won't mind if we just kill of Mr. Silverstone?" He looked back to the vampires who were holding Jove captive. I quickly jerked forward, causing everyone to shuffle quickly, frightened by my intentions. But I halted just as quickly as I moved.

"Wait!" I called out, caught. "Wait. I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt him."

"Ah, love," Tobias responded triumphantly, looking back at me. "So fickle, isn't it, Miss Truit?"

"It's Draele; Hail Draele," I said bitterly.

"As you wish, Miss Draele," He turned to indicate to the group of vampires, "Come with us, cooperate, and Silverstone won't be harmed. You have my word. And I never break my word." I glanced at Jove, who was now completely unconscious and left on the ground around multiple VaMoS vampires. His wounds were healing painfully slowly, though quicker than an average human. It would hurt once he was awake to find me gone; captured again by someone far more dangerous. But it would be better than him dying because of me. I didn't want to run around this world without him; alone forever.

"Okay," I decided, making Tobias smile pleasantly. The vampires began to shepherd me towards the exit, leading me away from Jove. I was slightly relieved to see that they all were following, leaving Jove alone on the ground. At least I wouldn't have to wonder if they would do something once I was out of sight. Then again, I would feel it through the bond if he got hurt or died…

"We'll be leaving people nearby in case you try anything," Tobias said to me threateningly, "Any attempt of escape or struggle will lead to Silverstone's death, so make sure you know what you want before you try anything." I glared at him angrily.

"You have what you want, you can shut up anytime now, asshole," I growled, pushing a vampire to my left who was too close to me away before moving into a car they had opened for me. I felt a feeling of dread within as I lowered myself into my new cage.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Headquarters

**Author's Note:**** Hey guys, sorry for the long in-between update. Life's been hectic; moved across country, mother's in hospital very ill, and crazy family drama besides the whole employment search and etc. Sorry if the update is shorter than usual, but I'll be trying to write more so I can finish both this story and Corruption! Enjoy~**

**Chapter Eleven**

_Headquarters_

I was sulking like a child in a car next to Tobias Draele, the leader of the VaMoS. I was thinking about all the things I could have done if I hadn't been so stupid about the hunters. I should have killed them and escaped. Jove's life wouldn't be threatened, I wouldn't be capture by the people we were running from, and everything would have been fine. What's a couple of human lives compared to what would happen once more of my type of vampires was made? It was like every single thing I swore wouldn't happen, happens. It was obvious that I should just stop making promises to myself.

"So what exactly did you do to make Evanen give you the Key to Immortality?" Tobias interrupted my sulking to ask. I casted a disgruntled look at him, not really feeling like giving him my life story.

"Ask your wonderful nephew," I answered sarcastically.

"Drewdon was something of a prodigy," Tobias said wistfully, "He was very smart as a human boy. I liked to visit my human family occasionally over the generations to see if anyone of my blood was worth turning. Drewdon was more like my great great great so on nephew… I visited him a few times in his childhood and while I was away some barbaric humans decided to play with fire and blinded him. By the time I came back, he was fully grown, homeless, blind, and pitiful. But of course, I made him something more…"

"More insane," I scoffed, though it did somewhat interest me to hear more of Drewdon's story. He was so reserved when I had met him; scary and mysterious. And here was his maker…

"You'll come around to our way of thinking, child," Tobias merely stated easily.

"I won't ever be behind enslaving humans. I was one not long ago. I have human family," I thought of my father, his aging face smiling but getting weak. "I won't willingly subject them to this world."

"But of course any humans you care for personally would be treated well," Tobias said, making a gesture as though to wipe away my silly thoughts. "You act as if you're the only one who cares somewhat for humans. They won't just be killed off and beaten. They'll just learn their place as lower being; maybe worship us and be treated comfortably."

"Like pets." I was suddenly hit by the memories of living with Evanen, stuck in his room for months as his own personal pet. Even though he knew nothing about humans and being human, he had claimed me as his and treated me nice enough most of the time. The fact remained; I was his prisoner, no matter the feelings that had emerged. He had killed my human friend, Kyler, removed me from my human life, and ultimately turned me into what I was. That was what awaited those humans that would be treated "nicely".

"They treat each other much worse. I rather think they want to be put down and enslaved," Tobias stated.

I glanced at him skeptically. "Yes. I'm sure they'll be happy to bend over and die for us."

"If you were smart," He suddenly snapped very uncharacteristically, "You would stop trying to be a hero and be a leader instead. You'd be the Queen, you know. The first of your kind; the true maker. You could make all the rules yourself." I noted how different it was to have this vampire trying to convince me to be on his side rather than scaring me. In fact, my heart held no fear for my own life. I wondered if all vampires had this lack of sense of mortality when they were turned.

"Perhaps I shall," I responded, near wistfully, before meeting his slightly confused look, "Make the rules, I mean. I'd start with the extermination of original vampires. Your kind would be nothing but competition for food, to be honest. And you guys do taste rather delicious in your own way…" Almost without thought, my fangs revealed themselves threateningly.

"Well, maybe we should start with your little lover boy," Tobias said, purposely trying to sound unconcerned but I could smell the fear that had followed my somewhat hidden threat. It was a curious smell and for some reason appetizing, like the aroma of bacon in the morning. I didn't respond for a moment.

"If you kill him, there will be nothing stopping me from destroying every last one of you vampires," I finally growled, moving my eyes towards the view outside the window. The speed of the vehicle was slow, almost excruciatingly so. I was so used to running at top speed with Jove. I already missed it.

"Then I guess we're lucky Silverstone betrayed the Council to help you after all," Tobias said triumphantly. "I always knew he'd leave their grasp. He was more of a free-thinker; wanting to do his own thing. Vampire rules were below him." I already knew about Jove's subconscious opinion regarding the importance of the Council. Even though he had been recruited and worked for them for decades, he never felt like he fully belonged to them. I wondered who would replace him.

Tobias began to say something else, but I quickly interrupted him. "I'd rather not talk to you anymore until further notice. If you continue, I'll be forced to make you believe you're mute for the rest of your life. Jove taught me a thing or two," I lied about the mind control thing being that I hadn't been taught that yet, but Tobias didn't know about that.

"As you wish," He merely responded, going into a deep silence next to me.

I kept my eyes outside at the scenery, watching each turn we took and remembering each land structure that would help me know where I was once I reached wherever we would be going. We drove at the slow pace into the night in silence, blissful but tense with vigilance towards each other's actions. It finally looked like we arrived to our destination until I realized it was a high security private airport. I glanced at Tobias which seemed to him as an invitation to talk again.

"We'll be taking a jet to the headquarters. Nothing but the best for our VIP guest," He told me with a smirk. I rolled my eyes but exited the vehicle and followed the group of captors to the indicated jet. It wasn't until I was seated and locked into my seat that I realized the other vampires in the jet had weapons aimed at me. I nearly scoffed.

"Exactly what are you guys planning on doing with those?" I asked sarcastically.

"Merely a precaution. We know you can't be harmed, but there's no reason why my men can't try to feel safer themselves," Tobias stated simply, sitting across from me. I glared at one vampire as he strapped my arms to the seat armrest with silly nylon straps. Anything with a thread count wouldn't be holding something like me down anytime soon.

It wasn't long before the jet was taking off and we were in the air, which was something in itself. I so badly wanted to stare out the window and feel the height and power of the whole world underneath me. But I pushed aside my new-vampire curiosity and focused on appearing as a statue.

"So, Hailence," Tobias interrupted my attempt annoyingly, "Would you like to know more about VaMoS?"

"What else is there to know? You're a bunch of vampires equal to the religious fanatical humans who want to destroy the world to make it more comfortable for yourselves," I stated sharply. The man just couldn't take a hint.

"Well, for one, we're not _all_ about taking over the human world. We weren't always, at least. For the longest time, we were the society that help build organization throughout the vampire world. We combined families or nests as some people like to call them. The Draele's, for example… though that family was combined for a more specific reason as you well know," Tobias explained haughtily. He really did seem to think he could talk me into understanding and joining his society willingly? I only hated that my curious side listened aptly at every piece of information and wanted to know more.

"We donated funds towards helping newborns find their place in this human world, constantly offered our allegiance to the Council, located and protected other supernatural creatures such as witches and clairvoyants who then provide us with prophecies, which we collect."

"What other types of supernatural creatures are out there?" I asked curiously.

"That would be unknown information. We know of witches and werewolves, but we only ever keep in contact with the witches. Other creatures of the abnormal could exist, but we all tend to keep separate of each other just as we do of humans," Tobias explained with a small smile of triumph towards my curiosity. I was just stuck on the idea that there were other supernatural creatures beyond vampires.

Of course, I should have guessed it before, when the whole Key to Immortality started as a prophecy. Then again I guess I assumed it had been vampires who prophesized it, being as there are vampires like Jove who have unique abilities. But of course his ability was only an extension of regular vampire's abilities; the mind abilities that ranged from nonexistent to mind control to mind contact that even Mikel could do. It just stunned me that there were creatures like werewolves as well…

"What makes you think these other creatures would be happy to have a vampire-ruled world?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in scrutiny. Tobias only peered at me with calculating eyes.

"With the Key to Immorality and an army of new indestructible vampires, honestly what would they be able to do about it?"

I left the question unanswered, continuing the traveling in silence once again. At some point, I considered trying to contact Jove with our bond, but I worried he would do something stupid with the sun rising soon. Instead, I blocked him unlike ever before, feeling the ache of his absence even in my thoughts. As long as I checked in on the bond to see he was alive and unharmed, I would know I hadn't caused his death through my own decisions.

The jet began lowering quickly as we approached the headquarters to VaMoS. All the vampires within the jet began to tense up once again now that I would be moving, but I didn't shift at all as the jet landed smoothly. They removed my pointless bindings and indicated the direction I was to walk as I followed behind Tobias. We exited the jet onto a landing area which appeared to be an underground dome. The walls were lined in black steel, and the dome itself was armed with a group of vampires all ready to attack. Unlike the vampires in the rabbit hole, these looked well trained and well fed. I felt I should be able to take them all on, but some human part of me still doubted myself.

"This way, Miss Truit-" Tobias turned to look at me in mock hesitation, "-I meant Draele of course." Something within told me I should severely dislike sharing the same last name as this vile man, but I also despised the reminder of what I used to be. Perhaps I should have made up my own last name.

I was led towards some form of entrance which opened as we approached it. A glance at the top of the doors revealed a set of security cameras watching us. As I entered, my eyes trailed quickly and yet slowly over every detail within the headquarters. It was all solid steel; the walls, the doors, the floor. The entrance hall was bare of all except black steel walls, ceiling, and floor. And then it opened up into a large circular room that held a large statue of Tobias within the center. On his sleeve there was a symbol of a V that represented something of a fang and gave a dark ominous feel to his near shrine. The walls to the circular room were constantly checkered by more solid doors with cameras and there were a slew of vampires just walking about entering and exiting the doors silently.

"Welcome to the VaMoS Headquarters," Tobias said next to me.

Honestly, I expected more.


End file.
